Indian media reported around 1,700 were due to cross into Pakistan, although there was no immediate official confirmation from Indian authorities.
The pilgrims will gather on Wednesday at Nankana Sahib, Guru Nanak’s birthplace about 80km west of Lahore by road, and later visit other sacred sites in Pakistan, including Kartarpur, where the guru is buried.
Pakistan’s High Commission had said last week its decision was consistent with efforts to promote “inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony and understanding”.
Indian newspapers reported Saturday that the government would allow “selected” groups to travel to Pakistan.
The Kartarpur Corridor, a visa-free route that opened in 2019 that allows Indian Sikhs to visit the temple without crossing the main border, remains closed since the conflict.
The four-day clashes between the arch-rivals broke out in May after New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing an attack targeting tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr 22, claims Pakistan denied.
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion born in the 15th century in Punjab, a region spanning parts of what is now India and Pakistan.
The frontier between the two countries was a colonial creation drawn at the violent end of British rule in 1947, which sliced the subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.
While most Sikhs migrated to India during partition, some of their most revered places of worship ended up in Pakistan, including the shrines in Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur.
Source: CNA
