12 April 2005	Tuesday	02 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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LAHORE, April 11: Over 3,000 Sikh pilgrims arrived here from India on Monday to celebrate Baisakhi, which marks the end of wheat harvesting season. Of the 3,142 pilgrims, some 311 belonged to the Jammu and Kashmir. Amid shower of petals, some of the pilgrims crossed the border barefoot in respect of the land which is the birthplace of their religious founder Baba Guru Nanak. Banners emblazoned with peace messages in Gurmukhi were displayed to welcome the guests.

The pilgrims left for Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Hasan Abdal soon after their arrival by trains to celebrate the festival starting on April 14 (Thursday).

The officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee greeted the guests, who arrived by two special trains and the Samjhota Express.

Bibi Kiranjot Kaur, the delegation head, welcomed the peace process between Indian and Pakistan. She said the peace efforts could only continue through people-to-people contact.

She alleged that the politicians of both sides did not want peace between the two countries and created hurdles in the process to gain political objectives. However, she was of the view that the governments apparently seemed sincere in developing cordial relations between them.

She complained that the pilgrims had to face problems in obtaining visas, and urged the governments to lift unnecessary curbs.

Sardar Jasvidar Singh, who is heading a delegation from the Jammu and Kashmir, welcomed the bus service between Muzaffarbad and Srinagar. He urged the governments to launch a service between Jammu and Sialkot so that they could reach their holy places in the Punjab directly.

The leaders demanded that they should be granted visas to the NWFP as well so that they could visit their gurdwaras there. They expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made by the EPTB and PSGPC.

65-year-old Satbeer Singh, who is here along with his wife, said he wished to visit his native town Varyam Bangla, some 10kms away from Jhang. “I don’t know whether the town still carries the same name, but it does carry my childhood memories,” he said.

Besides Indian Sikhs, over 1,500 pilgrims are expected to arrive here from Europe, the Middle East, the USA, Canada and Afghanistan. Some 300 have been arrived from the UK, the USA and Canada so far.

Thousands of local Sikhs and Hindus will also attend the festival. A majority of the local devotees, expected to attend the festival, come from Nankana Sahib, Swat, Mangora, Karachi, Kashmore, Mardan, Rawalpindi and Para Chanar.

They perform religious rituals like Akhand Paat Sahib, Phog, Ardas and Hukamnama.

During their nine-day stay, the Indian Sikhs will also visit Gurdwara Janam Asthan (birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak) in Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore, Gurdwara Succha Soda in Farooqabad, and Gurdwara Rohri Sahib in Aimanabad. They will leave for their home on April 20.

Metal detector personnel would accompany them and police escort them on their way to the provincial gurdwaras. The PSGPC is looking after their accommodation.