Overview
- Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi, which announced Tuesday it had issued more than 2,800 visas, cleared Indian Sikh pilgrims to attend Baisakhi events in Pakistan from April 10 to 19.
- Pilgrims are set to cross at the Attari–Wagah border on April 10, with the main ceremony on April 14 at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, followed by visits to Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib.
- Pakistan’s Evacuee Trust Property Board and the Punjab Home Department completed a security review and say lodging, bedding, clean water, air conditioning, and washroom facilities will be ready at gurdwaras and nearby sites.
- Indian Sikh bodies reported confirmed jathas, including 1,763 SGPC pilgrims approved out of 1,795 applicants, 409 visas for DSGMC out of 451, and 255 for HSGMC out of 275, with about 100 applicants flagged for passport issues.
- This is the first Baisakhi visit since the April 2025 Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, and Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires Saad Ahmad Warraich cast the facilitation as support for interfaith harmony under the long-running bilateral shrine-visit framework.