Chandigarh: Post Operation Sindoor, the first Sikh Jatha set out on Tuesday for Gurdwara Janamsthan, Nankana Sahib in Pakistan for the Guru Nanak Dev’s Parkash Purb celebrations.
The Parkash Purb falls on Wednesday (November 5).
This year, the Central government granted permission only to the Indian citizens to take part in the pilgrimage, unlike the previous years when the non-resident Indians (NRIs) were also allowed for the same.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) arranged the buses to ferry the pilgrims from Heritage Street, near Golden Temple to Attari border in the morning. While 1,796 pilgrims were taken in these buses, the remaining pilgrims directly reached the Attari border.
According to information, about 2,000 pilgrims were scheduled to cross over from the Attari border in India to Pakistan to pay obeisance at the historical gurdwaras in Lahore and Nankana Sahib. The jatha, which also includes many first-time pilgrims, is scheduled to return to India on November 13 after the Parkash Purb celebrations.
It may be recalled that the Centre had initially refused permission for the said pilgrimage citing security concerns in the backdrop of India's Operation Sindoor against Pakistan subsequent to the April 22 Pahalgam (J&K) terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed.
However, the government later agreed to allow a symbolic Jatha maintaining the long-standing tradition following appeals from Sikh organisations.
