Sikh leaders urge India to lift ban on pilgrims traveling to Pakistan shrine

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Sikh community leaders urged New Delhi to lift a ban recently imposed on pilgrims traveling to Pakistan to visit the shrine of Guru Nanak, the founder of their faith. They said the move violates international norms and moral values.

The appeal came from Mahesh Singh, vice president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the official body that manages Sikh shrines in Pakistan, where many holy places of Sikhs are located.

His remarks followed the Indian government’s Sept. 12 decision to deny permission for Sikhs to cross into Pakistan for Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary, citing security concerns. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.

The decision by India's federal government to bar pilgrims from traveling to Pakistan for the event has sparked condemnation from Sikh organizations and opposition leaders.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, a group that manages Sikh places of worship in India, said the decision hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.

Bhagwant Mann, Punjab state’s chief minister, accused the Indian central government of double standards. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, he said New Delhi had allowed a recent cricket match between the two countries while simultaneously prohibiting a Sikh religious pilgrimage

The dispute highlights broader tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, who downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended visas after tit-for-tat missile strikes in May and an earlier deadly attack in disputed Kashmir. Though a U.S.-brokered cease-fire has held, travel between the countries remains heavily restricted.

Despite the strained ties, Pakistani officials say Sikh and other religious pilgrims from India are still welcome to visit shrines in Pakistan under existing arrangements. Many of Sikhism’s holiest sites ended up in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947.

But Pakistani officials said they were still making arrangements to facilitate Indian pilgrims at the Kartarpur shrine, which is located in eastern Punjab’s recently flood-hit Narowal district, about 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) from the border.

The shrine is considered the second-holiest site in Sikhism.

The Kartarpur Corridor, inaugurated in 2019, created a visa-free border crossing for Sikh pilgrims from India, allowing thousands to visit the shrine daily. The shrine and surrounding villages were inundated last month when heavy rains and water released from overflowing Indian dams caused flooding across Narowal, affecting more than 100,000 people.

At one point, water stood 20 feet (6 meters) deep inside the shrine.

Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif ordered the water to be drained and the site restored, and the shrine reopened for worship and visits within a week.

Pakistani official Ghulam Mohiuddin said arrangements for lodging and food were being finalized for Sikh pilgrims traveling from India and abroad. He said if New Delhi lifts its ban, a record number of Indian Sikhs could visit Kartarpur this year.

Singh said thousands of Sikhs from India had hoped to take part in November’s weeklong celebration marking 556 years since Guru Nanak’s birth. He said Pakistan’s government has assured the committee that “the doors of Pakistan are open for Indian Sikh pilgrims,” and that visas would be granted through Pakistan’s high commission in New Delhi.

Another Sikh leader, Gyani Harpreet Singh, questioned the Indian government’s decision on X, noting that if India and Pakistan can play cricket matches, Sikhs should also be allowed to visit Pakistan for religious observances.

He appealed to New Delhi “not to play with the emotions of Sikhs.”

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Associated Press writer Aijaz Hussain contributed to this story from Srinagar, India.