Islamabad, October 19 (IANS). The Indian High Commission in Islamabad has issued visas to 82 Pakistani pilgrims, enabling them to come to India via the Wagah-Attari border for the five-day annual Urs celebrations of Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya.
Pilgrims entered India from Wagah border on Saturday to perform Ziyarat during Urs. Given the hostile relations between the two neighbors since the Pulwama attack in 2019, obtaining visas for the annual Urs of Khawaja Nizamuddin Auliya has been a difficult process in the past for Pakistani pilgrims.
However, all 82 pilgrims from Pakistan who applied for visas this year were asked to assemble in Lahore two days before departure to facilitate the visa process.
This positive development is being considered as a step in the right direction, which is expected to improve bilateral relations in the coming times.
Let us tell you that the Urs of Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya is an important religious event, in which pilgrims from different backgrounds come. It is believed that issuing visas to pilgrims by India can also act as a bridge between the people of the two countries, thereby promoting goodwill and dialogue.
Many believe that the provision of visas to all pilgrims coming from Pakistan by the Indian High Commission, India’s External Affairs Minister S. This led to positive talks between Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
With this, the hopes of the Indian cricket team touring Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy have also been rekindled.
Team India is expected to tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in February 2025. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to formally inform the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about the team’s participation.
–IANS
RK/AKJ
