ISLAMABAD – A 500 year-old gurdwara in Sialkot in Pakistan’s Punjabprovince has now opened its doors for Indian Sikh pilgrims, a media reportsaid on Monday.
Earlier, Indians were not allowed to visit the Babe-de-Ber gurdwara whichis situated in Sialkot city, about 140 kms from here.
Several religious sites in Punjab are frequented by Sikhs from severalcountries including India.
Pilgrims from Pakistan, Europe, Canada and the US were allowed to visit thegurdwara.
Punjab Governor Muhammad Sarwar directed the province’s Auqaf department toinclude Sikh pilgrims from India to the list, so they can visit the Sialkotgurdwara, the report said.
Every year, thousands of Indian Sikh devotees visit Pakistan on the birthand death anniversaries of Guru Nanak — the founder of Sikhism and thefirst of the 10 Sikh Gurus — the martyrdom of Guruwar Jin Devji and theBesakhi festival and the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
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According to the Sikh tradition, when Guru Nanak arrived in Sialkot fromKashmir in the 16th century, he stayed under the tree of Beri. Sardar NathaSingh then built a gurdwara in his remembrance at the site, the reportadded.
In November 2018, India and Pakistan agreed to set up a border crossinglinking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur – the final restingplace of Guru Nanak – to Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.
The Kartarpur corridor is expected to provide visa-free access to IndianSikh pilgrims to the gurdwara in Kartarpur Sahib – a small town in Narowal,four kilometers from the Pakistan-India border, where Guru Nanak spent thelast 18 years of his life.
