LAHORE, July 5: As many as 135 Sikh pilgrims, who had come from India on June 26 to attend religious ceremonies in connection with the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, returned home on Saturday.

The officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board and the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbhandik Committee chairman saw them off at Wagah at 11.30am.

During their stay, the pilgrims attended three-day religious ceremonies on the Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary in company with 800 local Sikhs at Dera Sahib near the Lahore Fort.

They also visited gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hassan Abdaal, gurdwara Sacha Soda at Farooqabad, Rohri Sahib at Eminabad and gurdwara Janam Esthan at Nankana Sahib.

Group leaders of the batch Shri Onkaar Singh and Sardar Autar Singh appreciated the ongoing renovation and extension of Janam Esthan, Rohri Sahib and Panja Sahib gurdwaras. They hoped that the extension would help accommodate more pilgrims in future.

They urged the Indian government to hold a dialogue with Pakistan to promote peace in the region. Resumption of talks between the two neighbours would bring a relief to the people, who, they said, could not afford the fourth war.

They said the Indian Sikhs had been mainly affected by the suspension of the air, road and rail links between the two countries. The Sikhs hoped that the normalization of relations (between India and Pakistan) would help their fellow pilgrims to visit Pakistan on a regular basis.