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LAHORE, April 7: More than 3,000 Sikhs from across the border are coming to celebrate Besakhi at Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal on April 11. The Evacuee Trust Property Board officials told Dawn on Thursday that besides India, more than 1,500 pilgrims would arrive here from Europe, Middle East, America, Canada and Afghanistan.
Thousands of local Sikhs and Hindus would also attend the festival, starting on April 14. The officials said the government would provide maximum security to the pilgrims. Police would escort them to provincial gurdwaras, they added.
ETPB chairman Zulfiqar Ali Khan has directed the officials concerned to complete the ongoing repair work in the major gurdwaras of the province. He also asked the railways and immigration authorities at Wagah to make arrangements to facilitate Sikh pilgrims coming from India.
The Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee will look after the accommodation arrangements of the pilgrims.
During their nine-day stay, the Sikh pilgrims will also visit Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore, Gurdwara Succha Sauda in Farooqabad, Gurdwara Rohri Sahib in Eminabad and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib. The Indian Sikhs will leave for their home on April 20.—Staff Reporter
