Pakistan Refuses Entry to 14 Hindu Pilgrims Ahead of Guru Nanak Anniversary

Post by : Raina Nasser

Fourteen Indian nationals travelling to Nankana Sahib — the birthplace of Guru Nanak — were prevented from entering Pakistan while en route to mark his 556th birth anniversary. Pakistani authorities said only Sikh pilgrims who appeared on authorised lists would be granted passage, and the 14 Hindu visitors were sent back.

The group had been included among roughly 2,100 Indian citizens cleared by India’s Union Home Ministry for the pilgrimage. Islamabad issued nearly matching travel permits, and on Tuesday about 1,900 pilgrims crossed into Pakistan at Wagah — the first such people-to-people movement since the May military clash known as Operation Sindoor.

In addition to the 14 who were denied entry on religious grounds, close to 300 people who had sought visas independently were turned away at the Indian side of the border for lacking Home Ministry authorisation.

Several prominent Sikh representatives did make the crossing, including Akal Takht head Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, Bibi Gurinder Kaur of the Shrimoni Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and Ravinder Singh Sweeta from the Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee. The main observance will be held at Gurdwara Janamasthan, roughly 80 kilometres from Lahore.

Indian Sikh pilgrims are scheduled for a 10-day itinerary that also includes visits to Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in Farooqabad and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

Diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad remain elevated after Operation Sindoor, launched in response to a deadly April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. That assault, blamed on The Resistance Front — described as an offshoot of the Pakistan-linked Lashkar-e-Taiba — left 26 people, mostly civilians, dead.

The episode underscores the fragility of cross-border religious travel amid strained bilateral ties. While most approved pilgrims were allowed entry, the exclusion of Hindu visitors highlights gaps in coordination and the need for clearer rules to ensure equal access for all faith groups.