TAXILA: As many as 97 Sikh pilgrims from Canada and 80 from Australia arrived at Gurdwara Punja Sahib Hassanabdal on Friday.

They are visiting Pakistan to attend the opening of Kartarpur Corridor on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on Nov 12.

Officials from the Evacuee Trust Property Board welcomed the Sikh yatrees.

Sardar Honey Singh, the contingent leader from Australia, appreciated the efforts of the government, saying it had won the hearts of the entire Sikh community by opening Kartarpur Corridor.

Another pilgrim, Gurneet Kaur, said 24 million Sikhs in India had waited for 70 years for consensus on the Kartarpur border crossing.

In June this year, Sikh businessmen living in the United Kingdom had announced to donate £500 million to refurbish and restore their religious places and temples in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2019