INDIAN Sikh pilgrims entered Pakistan on Tuesday in the first major cross-border movement since the land border was shut after clashes in May.
Last week, Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi said more than 2,100 pilgrims had been granted visas to take part in a 10-day festival marking 556 years since the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
In May, Islamabad and New Delhi saw their worst fighting since 1999, in which more than 70 people were killed. The Wagah-Attari border, the only active land crossing between the two countries, was then closed to general traffic.
AFP journalists reported that hundreds of pilgrims crossed the border on Tuesday with their luggage. Pakistani officials received them with flowers and rose petals. Many wore garlands and chanted after entering Pakistan.
"We have nothing to do with the war," pilgrim Parvinder Kaur told AFP.
"We often watched videos of the shrines and dreamed of coming here, and now, we are finally here for the first time."
Another pilgrim said the reception was overwhelming. "It doesn't feel like we are in another country. It feels like we are among our own people," said Valeti Singh.
"We pray to God that when Pakistanis visit our side, we can reciprocate the same warmth and respect."
Nasir Mushtaq, a senior official at Pakistan's religious affairs ministry, told AFP that around 2,000 pilgrims crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, the eve of Guru Nanak's birthday. There was no immediate confirmation from Indian authorities.
"We are welcoming all the Sikh pilgrims arriving from India with greater respect, honour and hospitality than ever before," Mushtaq said.
"We want to leave a lasting impression of love, peace and respect with our Sikh guests so they return to India and elsewhere with pleasant memories of Pakistan."
The pilgrims will gather on Wednesday at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak west of Lahore, and will later visit other sites in Pakistan, including Kartarpur, where Guru Nanak is buried.
Pakistan's High Commission had said last week that its visa decision was in line with efforts to promote "inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony and understanding".
The Kartarpur Corridor, a visa-free route opened in 2019 that allows Indian Sikhs to visit the temple without crossing the main border, remains closed since the conflict.
The fighting in May lasted four days after New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan denied the accusation.
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded in the 15th century in Punjab, a region that today spans parts of India and Pakistan.
The border between the two countries was drawn at the end of British rule in 1947, dividing the subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Most Sikhs migrated to India during partition, but several key Sikh shrines remained in Pakistan, including those in Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur.
(With inputs from AFP)
