On the occasion of Khalsa Sajna Diwas (Vaisakhi), a total of 1,763 Sikh pilgrims have received visas to visit historic Sikh shrines located in Pakistan. The pilgrimage group will be sent by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and is scheduled to depart on April 10 from the SGPC headquarters.
Sharing the details, SGPC Secretary Balwinder Singh Kahlo informed that passports of 1,795 devotees were submitted to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi for visa processing. Out of these, visas were granted to 1,763 pilgrims, while 32 applicants could not receive visas.
He stated that, as every year, a Sikh pilgrims’ group is being sent to Pakistan to mark the celebrations of Khalsa Sajna Diwas (Vaisakhi). The jatha will leave the SGPC office amid religious slogans and devotional enthusiasm on April 10.
During the visit, pilgrims will participate in the main Vaisakhi celebrations at Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, Pakistan. The group will also visit various other Sikh religious shrines before returning to India on April 19.
SGPC officials advised pilgrims whose visas have been approved to collect their passports from the SGPC office during working hours on April 9.
The SGPC also released the serial numbers of the 32 applicants who were not granted visas, including numbers 144, 146, 161, 163, 201, 225, 245, 250, 251, 252, 304, 370, 413, 441, 509, 510, 524, 645, 652, 679, 680, 895, 1026, 1027, 1038, 1087, 1276, 1277, 1510, 1547, 1785, and 1786.
