DUBAI: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said that the government will offer special visas and hotel packages to Sikh pilgrims in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries who are eager to visit Kartarpur to mark the birth anniversary of the founder of their faith.
“For the Sikh community here, I especially want to say that we will hold a special three-day festival this year on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. We will arrange three-day visas for our Sikh brothers here who wish to come to Pakistan and felicitate them. Hotels are also giving special packages,” Fawad said during a media talk in Dubai, adding that Pakistan plans to commemorate the event starting November 18.
“A special film focusing on Baba Nanak’s travels will also be released next month,” he said.
Furthermore, Chaudhry applauded overseas Pakistanis for making substantial contributions to the country’s economy, saying they have sent the highest remittances to Pakistan in history during the last fiscal year.
“If the economy is surviving at this point, it is because of the contribution of overseas Pakistanis,” he said.
The information minister continued the government has made it a priority to address the issues of Pakistanis living abroad, adding that nearly 20,000 prisoners involved in petty crimes in the Gulf region had been brought back to their country.
He maintained the current administration in Islamabad was also keen to install an electronic voting system for overseas Pakistanis ahead of the next elections. “We want our nationals living abroad to cast their votes as well,” he added.
Located in Punjab province, Kartarpur is said to have been established in the 16th century by Guru Nanak who laid the foundations of Sikhism.
The government opened a visa-free border crossing and corridor connecting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, where Nanak was buried, to the border with India to allow Sikh devotees from the neighbouring country to visit the place without securing travel permits.
