NEW DELHI: A group of over 100 Sikh pilgrims with valid Indian visas were stopped from travelling to India by Pakistani authorities. One of the pilgrims said that they were stopped over no-objection certificates (NOCs), which aren’t required for civilians, and called the action by the officials “shameful”.
Due to the closure of land border crossings, the Sikh pilgrims opted to fly to India via the UAE. But they were stopped at the Faisalabad International Airport with officials seeking NOCs.
“We legally received a visa on a Pakistani passport. So what right do the immigration officials have to ask a civilian for an NOC,” one of the Sikh pilgrims was heard questioning in a video circulated online.
“An NOC is usually demanded from a civilian if they are a criminal or have done something else. We have come here, we are not government employees, we have this [passport] and a visa stamped on it,” the Sikh pilgrim said, flashing his green Pakistani passport.
The prevention of travel must have caused big financial setbacks for the Sikh pilgrims, as flying via a third country to a destination is costlier.
“India had issued visas to 104 Sikh devotees. With the Wagah-Attari land route unavailable to them, the pilgrims had already been forced to opt for a considerably more expensive journey through a third country,” said senior journalist Ravinder Singh Robin on X.
The Times of India newspaper quoted the leader of the Sikh Jatha, Papinder Singh, to report that the pilgrims were scheduled to fly to Sharjah from Faisalabad early on Friday, and then to Delhi.
Papinder Singh told The Times of India (TOI) that the pilgrims had Indian visas for Delhi, Amritsar, Sri Anandpur Sahib and Sri Hemkund Sahib.
Gurdwara Hemkund Sahib is located in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district and is the highest Sikh pilgrimage site in the world. The gurdwara, associated with Sikhism’s 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, remains snow-covered for most part of the year.
Anandpur Sahib in Punjab’s Rupnagar district is also associated with Guru Gobind Singh and is the place where he established the Khalsa Panth.
Both the historical gurdwaras attract many pilgrims from across the world.
The Sikh person in the video blamed Pakistani politicians for them being prevented from undertaking the pilgrimage.
“So, it is about politics. But do your politics on someone else. Why are politics using us,” the pilgrim questioned, adding, “You are committing cruelty against us… Is this your way of doing things?”
“Many of us are travelling with our entire families and children, with some undertaking this pilgrimage for the first time,” the pilgrim said in the video, pointing to an elderly person. “Right now, we are sitting at the Faisalabad airport alongside our children and fellow devotees of the Guru.
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