HC: (Pakistan issues visas to Indian Hindu Yatrees for visit to Shadani Darbar, Katas Raj Temples)

ISLAMABAD:Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued visas to two groups of Indian Hindu Yatrees in December 2020 for visit to their revered sites in Pakistan.

 

According to a press statement issued here on Tuesday, on yesterday (Monday), a group of 47 Indian Hindu Yatrees has been issued visas. They would visit Shree Katas Raj Temples, also known as Qila Katas or complex of Katas Temples in Chakwal district of Punjab, Pakistan from December 23-29 2020.

 

The Katas Raj temples surround a sacred pond to Hindu devotees. Another group of 44 Indian Hindu Yatrees returned yesterday (Monday) from Pakistan where they participated in the 312th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Shiv Avtari Satguru Sant Shadaram Sahib, at Sukkur, Sindh from 15-21 December 2020.

 

More than three centuries old temple, Shadani Darbar, is a holy place for devotees from across the world. The temple was founded in 1786 by Sant Shadaram Sahib, who was born in Lahore in 1708.

 

Thousands of Indian Sikh and Hindu pilgrims visit Pakistan under the bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, to observe several religious festivals/occasions every year.

 

The visas issued from New Delhi are in addition to the visas granted to Sikh and Hindu pilgrims participating in these events from other countries. The issuance of pilgrimage visas to Sikh and Hindu pilgrims is part of the Government of Pakistan’s endeavors to facilitate their visits to religious shrines.

 

Pakistan remains committed to preserving sacred religious places and extending all possible facilitation for the visiting pilgrims of all faiths.