Lahore: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the Sikh delegates visiting Pakistan on the eve of Baisakhi festival.
“I welcome all the Sikh delegates visiting Pakistan on the occasion of Baisakhi,” he said in a tweet. The prime minister said the Punjabi festival symbolised much more than merely the start of the harvesting season.
“It is a sign of hope, renewal, and growth. Congratulations to all those celebrating this spring festival,” he said.
Earlier, over 2,000 Sikh pilgrims entered Pakistan from the Wagah border to attend the annual Baisakhi festival that started on Wednesday. The main festival ceremony is being held at Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hasanabdal on Thursday.
15th April marks as the 553 birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism.
He was born in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan. However, the anniversary of Nanak’s birth subsequently came to be celebrated on the full moon day of the Kattak month in November. Guru Nanak’s teachings laid the basis for a community that now numbers up to 30 million across the world.
Guru Nanak advocated the existence of one God and taught his followers that every human being can reach out to God through meditation and other pious practices. Every year, Pakistan welcomes thousands of Sikhs across the world to participate in Guru’s birth celebrations.
Pakistan is home to some of the most important Sikh pilgrimage sites which include the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak, Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara and Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal. Recently, on 12 April, over 2,000 Sikh pilgrims entered into Pakistan through Wagah border to attend the annual Baisakhi festival. It is pertinent to mention that Baisakhi is an ancient spring harvest festival of India and Pakistan. It became closely associated with Sikhism at the end of the 17th century when Guru Gobind Singh chose the date of the festival.
The Sikhs celebrate the event by making pilgrimages to their holy sites. Sardar Arvinder Singh, party leader Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (India) said, “Whenever we come to Pakistan, the land of our Gurus, we feel very happy and relaxed.
Therefore, this time too, we have come here with a lot of love for the people of Pakistan.” Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee Chief Sardar Sukhbeer Singh said both Pakistan and India had the same culture and they (the pilgrims) always felt comfortable in Pakistan. APP
