SGPC awaits MEA nod for pilgrimage to Pakistan

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 21

Even though the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has allowed the pilgrims to attend the 551st birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan, the official nod is still awaited by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and organisers.

The jatha is scheduled to cross the Attari-Wagah border on November 27 to grace the five-day celebrations scheduled at Janam Asthan, Sri Nankana Sahib. The occasion will be marked on November 30 and the jatha will return on December 1. Around 1,500 applications were received by different organisations, out of which 500 were endorsed by the SGPC to the MEA for furnishing the visa.

Darshan Singh, PA to the SGPC president, said we came to know through media reports only that the permission had been granted

by the Central Government. Though there’s no official communication from the MEA as yet. “It is a welcome decision to allow pilgrimage to Nankana Sahib,” he said.

Ferozepur-based International Bhai Mardana Yadgari Kirtan Darbar Society head Harpal Singh Bhullar said: “We have got a telephonic communication to visit New Delhi for completing official formalities on November 23-24, but an official invitation is still awaited. We had sent 200 applications.”