Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI — Pakistan on Thursday has issued visas to 463 Indian Sikh Pilgrims to visit Pakistan to observe Barsi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from June 27-July 06, 2019.
According to Pakistan High Commission press note, the visas were issued under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974.
The Indian government also issued visas to a group of 100 Pakistani Zaireen to participate in the 715th Urs of Hazrat Amir Khusro (RA) in New Delhi. Under this framework, thousands of pilgrims from both the countries made visit to observe various religious festivals/occasions every year.
High Commission said that this time, it also accommodated those Sikh Yatrees who were granted Pakistani visas for observing Martyrdom Day of Guru Arjun Dev from 14-23 June 2019 but could not go to Pakistan. These visas issued by High Commission in New Delhi are in addition to the visas given to Sikh Pilgrims participating in the event from different parts of the world.
Issuance of the maximum number of pilgrimage visas is in line with the Government of Pakistan’s policy of promoting visits to religious shrines and people-to-people contacts, it added. It also claimed that Pakistan remains “committed to facilitating the visiting pilgrims of all faiths”.
Meanwhile, Zaireen from Pakistan on Thursday laid traditional chadar at Dargah Hazrat Amir Khusro (RA). They were accompanied by diplomats from the High Commission of Pakistan in India and offered the chadar on behalf of the Government and people of Pakistan.
The High Commission’s diplomats and the group of Pakistani Zaireen were greeted at the Dargah by Sajjadah Nasheen Dewan Syed Tahir Nizami. Dewan Moosa Nizami and other members of the Dargah Committee were also present on the occasion. The group also paid their respects at the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia (RA), located in the same compound. The Urs of Hazrat Amir Khusro, a spiritual disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia (RA), is attended every year by devotees from across the world, including Pakistan.
Hazrat Amir Khusro was a renowned Sufi musician, poet, and scholar of South Asia. He was devoted to his murshid Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia (RA). Hazrat Amir Khusro is also regarded as the “father of qawwali” as he fused the Persian, Arabic, Turkish, and South Asian musical traditions to create the form of Sufi devotional music.
