Indian Hindus will reach Pakistan on Sunday for Yatra.
ISLAMABAD: A group of Hindu pilgrims from India will reach Pakistan on foot from the Wagah border crossing on Sunday (tomorrow) where they will attend Shadani Darbar in Mirpur Mathelo, Hayat Patafi, Sindh for religious rituals.
The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued 87 visas to Hindu pilgrims coming to Pakistan to attend the 316th birth anniversary celebrations of Shiva Avatar Satguru Sant Shada Ram Sahib at Shadani Darbar Hayat Patafi in Sindh from November 24 to December 4.
On the occasion, Charge d’Affaires, Saad Ahmed Waraich conveyed his best wishes to the pilgrims, a press release said on Saturday.
He said that Pakistan is committed to providing necessary facilities to pilgrims along with the protection of holy religious places.
The visas are issued under the framework of the India-Pakistan Protocol on Visits to Religious Sites, 1974.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are bitter enemies with long-standing political tensions, having fought three wars and numerous minor skirmishes since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
Relations have been particularly strained since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the limited autonomy of India’s illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan but is fully claimed by both, with both accusing the other of fueling militancy there.
But religious pilgrimages, exchange of prisoner lists and nuclear facilities between the two countries are governed by separate agreements.
In October, Pakistan and India renewed their agreement to facilitate pilgrims through the Kartarpur Corridor for another five years.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) is providing security, accommodation and transport for the pilgrims.
Pilgrims will travel to Hayat Patafi in special buses to perform religious rituals and visit other holy places including the historic Sadhu Bela Temple in Sukkur.
An ETPB spokesperson highlighted that all arrangements have been made to ensure the “comfort and safety” of Hindu pilgrims during their stay in Sindh.
