LAHORE, Nov 27: As many as 1,200 Indian Sikh pilgrims arrived here on Tuesday by three special trains to participate in a 12-day long 533rd birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak.

Senior officials of the Evacuee Trust Proper Board (ETPB) and the local administration received the first-batch of 1,200 pilgrims while rest of them will reach by two separate trains which are likely to reach Wahga Border by Tuesday evening.

The special trains will take Sikh pilgrims directly to Nankana Sahib, the birth place of the Baba Guru Nanak where they will participate in the ceremony and will later proceed to other places including Hassan Abdal, Sucha Sauda and Dera Sahib.

The customs, immigration, the NBP, the Punjab Tourism Department and rest of the agencies had set up special counters to facilitate the pilgrims.

Sardar Bhullar Singh, Sardar Harpal Singh and some others talking to reporters on the occasion appreciated the arrangements made by the Pakistani government for Sikh pilgrims.

They said that they had brought a message of love and brotherhood from their country and would like to live as a good neighbour in a tension-free atmosphere.

The Sikh pilgrims will return home on Dec 7.

Earlier, talking to newsmen, ETPB chairman Inayatullah Khan Niazi said that he was determined to purge his department of corrupt elements. He said that he was actively planning to computerize the board record to fight against corrupt elements.—APP