2,200 Sikh pilgrims leave for Kartarpur amid tight security

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Apr, 2026) Around 2,200 Sikh pilgrims from India departed for Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on Wednesday after completing their visit to Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib in connection with the Baisakhi Mela and Khalsa Day celebrations.

Additional Secretary Shrines Evacuee Trust Property board (ETPB) Nasir Mushtaq, along with caretaker Ismatullah, saw off the pilgrims from Hasan Abdal and personally reviewed the security arrangements. Punjab Police contingents were deployed, while the pilgrims were dispatched in three separate convoys. Rescue ambulances and a medical unit of the ETPB were also accompanying the convoys to provide healthcare facilities during travel. Special security arrangements were put in place along the routes, while designated rest areas were temporarily closed for the general public.

Speaking to the media before departure, leader of the delegation from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Sardar Surjit Singh appreciated the arrangements, stating that gurdwaras in Pakistan were well-preserved and secure. He lauded the provision of accommodation, medical facilities and transportation.

Other pilgrims also expressed satisfaction over the facilities, including comfortable buses, clean drinking water and well-organised langar arrangements, and thanked the ETPB and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for their hospitality.

Nasir Mushtaq said that, on the special directives of the Federal government and ETPB chairman, arrangements of international standards had been ensured for the pilgrims. He appreciated the role of district administration, health department, police and federal security agencies in successfully organising the Baisakhi Mela.

He added that the pilgrims would stay for two days at Kartarpur to perform their religious rituals. A Punjabi cultural sport, kabaddi, has also been arranged in their honour at the outer premises of the shrine.

The pilgrims are scheduled to visit Gurdwara Rori Sahib on April 17 before arriving in Lahore, where they will stay at Gurdwara Dera Sahib. They will return to India via Wagah border crossing on April 19.