LAHORE: Sikh pilgrims from India will arrive at the Wagah railway station today (Wednesday) by special trains to attend the 319th Khalsa Janam Din and Besakhi festival at Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hasanabdal.

Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman Siddiqul Farooq and other officials will welcome the Sikh pilgrims at Wagah.

Soon after their arrival, the pilgrims will leave for Hasanabdal where they will stay for three days (April 12 to 14). The main ceremony of Besakhi festival will be held there on April 14 and Sikh pilgrims will perform their rituals. They will visit Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib, on April 15 and Sucha Sauda, Farooqabad, the next day.

The pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore, on April 18. They will go to Kartarpur, Narowal, on April 19 and return to Lahore the same day. A seminar on Besakhi will be held at Aiwan-i-Iqbal on April 20 where Governor Rafique Rajwana will be chief guest. The pilgrims will return to India on April 21.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2017