LAHORE: Over 6,700 Sikhs arrived here on Thursday from India to take part in the Baisakhi (Vaisakhi) Mela (festival) to be held on April 14 at Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib.

The pilgrims were greeted at Wagah border by Minister of State for Interfaith Harmony Khel Das Kohistani, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee president and Punjab Minorities Minister Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Secretary Farid Iqbal and Additional Secretary Shrines Saifullah Khokhar.

This is for the first time that the Pakistan government has issued visas to such a large number of Indian Sikh pilgrims for participation in Baisakhi festival.

Under the Pakistan-India Religious Protocol Agreement 1974, up to 3,000 Sikh pilgrims are permitted to visit Pakistan for any religious festival.

However, the government has issued a total of 6,751 visas this year, granting 3,751 additional visas on the special request of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the ETPB.

Talking to reporters at Wagah, Mr Kohistani welcomed the Sikh pilgrims on behalf of Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and conveyed his greetings to them on the occasion of Baisakhi.

He said Sikhs from all over the world were coming to Pakistan without any fear to visit their places of worship.

Mr Arora said a record number of Sikh pilgrims were visiting Pakistan this year owing to the Punjab chief minister`s initiatives to promote religious tourism.The ETPB secretary said his department ensured comprehensive arrangements for the provision of accommodation, medical treatment, transport, and other necessary services to the Sikh pilgrims.

`The ETPB has spent a huge amount to facilitate the Sikh piligrims,` he said and added that Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, and other Sikh holy sites had been beautifully decorated to enrich the spiritual experience of the pilgrims. The leaders of the visiting jatha (group), including Ravinder Singh and Daljit Singh Sarna said that the Pakistani government won the hearts of the Sikh community by issuing such a large number of visas.PilgrimsfromAmritsar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and 11 other Indian states are part of the jatha arriving in Pakistan.

`Pakistan is a peaceloving country, and Sikhs from all over the world wish to visit it because of the immense respect and honour they receive here,` Mr Sarna said.

The pilgrims have been divided into two groups -the first will visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassan Abdal, while the second will head to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. Both groups will arrive at Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib, on April 12. On April 13, they will visit Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in Faroogabad and stay overnight in Nankana Sahib.

The central ceremony of the Baisakhi festivalwill be held on April 14 at Gurdwara JanamAsthan.

On April 15, one group will travel to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, while the other will proceed to Gurdwara Panja Sahib.

On April17,bothgroups will pay their respects at Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore and later visit Gurdwara Rohri Sahib in Eminabad. The Indian Sikh pilgrims will return to their homeland on April 19.