Around 60 devotees from Pakistan on Monday offered prayers in New Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah. After last week’s announcement of the re-opening of the Kartarpur corridor by the Narendra Modi government, New Delhi also allowed Pakistani devotees to visit India.
Earlier, due to Covid-19 restrictions, cross-border movement of devotees was not allowed for some time. It has however been resumed now, as per the 1974 agreement.
Pakistan Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi Aftab Hasan accompanied the devotees to Nizamuddin Dargah on Monday.
Speaking exclusively to News18, he said, “It’s heartening to see that the pilgrims from Pakistan have arrived to pay obeisance at the Nizamuddin Dargah on the Urs. We hope that this will continue in the future also.”
“Due to covid restrictions, it was suspended for a couple of years but now it has started again and we hope that it will continue in the future. It’s a good omen that people are interacting and more people should visit. We are following a liberal visa regime at Pakistan High Commission. We are issuing a maximum number of visas to Indian applicants who are desirous of visiting Pakistan. It’s a good omen for bilateral relations,” he added.
One of the devotees, Mohammed Arshad who came from Lahore, told News18 that he had come to India for the first time and it had been a great journey without any hassles.
Another devotee said he received a lot of love in India and his long-time wish of visiting Nizamuddin dargah has been fulfilled now. He further said that he wished for a good relationship between the two countries, so that movement of the devotees continued. He also expressed his desire for having easier visa norms so that devotees can have a hassle-free cross-border movement.
Indo-Pak religious diplomacy gains momentum
In spite of the multiple conflicts between the two countries, religious diplomacy has picked up once again. Last week only, the Kartarpur corridor was opened for devotees, keeping in mind the religious sentiment of Sikh devotees on the occasion of Gurpurab.
Moreover, at least 2,500 Sikh devotees are on Pakistan visit via the Attari-Wagah border. As per the 1974 agreement, devotees from India and Pakistan can visit the other country to offer prayers at the religious shrines.
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