India has barred over one thousand Sikh Yatrees to visit Pakistan through Wagah Border. According to a spokesman of Evacuee Trust Property Board, these Yatrees were scheduled to take part in their religious Saka Festival at Gurdwara Janamasthan at Nankana Sahib on Sunday, for which all arrangements have already been finalised.
Meanwhile, the Sikh community members staged a protest at Gurdwara Dera Sahion Thursday afternoon against the Indian authorities for not allowing Yatrees to reach Pakistan.
Last year in June, India prevented Sikh pilgrims from attending Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.
The Kartarpur Corridor, which was temporarily closed in March 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was reopened in June on the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the 19th Sikh century ruler of Punjab. The Kartarpur Gurdwara, situated in the Narowal district, is one of the most revered places for the Sikh community as Baba Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life there. The distance between Kartarpur and the Indian town of Gurdaspur is merely three kilometres.
