LAHORE: A 21-member delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from northern Punjab state of India entered Pakistan via the Kartarpur Sahib corridor on Thursday for an annual commemoration of the birth of Sikhism founder, The Indian Express reported.
Two main border crossings with India — at Wagah and Kartarpur — were reopened for the festivities Wednesday, after being closed due to coronavirus restrictions for about two years.
The week-long celebrations mark 552 years since the birth of Baba Guru Nanak who settled in today’s Pakistan. His shrine is also in the Kartarpur town of Narowal District and is visible from across the border in India.
This was the first delegation of a political party to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib since the reopening of the corridor.
BJP delegation crosses over to Kartarpur Sahib @iepunjab pic.twitter.com/WOrnkM8ifQ
— ManrajGrewalSharma (@grewal_sharma) November 18, 2021
A Foreign Office statement said Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) party, will also arrive to take part in Gurpurab, an event that marks the birth anniversary of Nanak.
President of Punjab chapter of INC and former cricket star, Navjot Singh Sidhu, will also arrive, but separately, Hindustan Times reported. Sidhu, an old friend of Prime Minister Imran Khan from their cricketing days, was part of the first Sikh delegation from India who had participated in the opening of the historic corridor in 2019.
The Foreign Office statement further said Minister of Revenue Harish Chaudhary in the northern state of Rajasthan and eight members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly will also be part of the delegation.
Earlier on Wednesday, some 3,000 Sikh pilgrims from India entered Pakistan through the Wagha border crossing to take part in the celebrations.
Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi issued the visas to the pilgrims, enabling them to attend the celebrations, whereas New Delhi, for its part, reopened the visa-free crossing, which connects the two Punjab regions.
The pilgrims will also visit their holy sites in several parts of Punjab, including Kartarpur Sahib, where Nanak settled and died in 1539.
