Thousands of Sikh pilgrims visit Pakistan to celebrate Vaisakhi festival

Sikh pilgrims arrive to attend a ceremony to mark the Vaisakhi festival at the shrine of Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib, some 75 kilometres west of Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, April 14, 2024. - AP

NANKANA SAHIB: Thousands of Sikhs were in Pakistan on Monday (April 14) to celebrate Vaisakhi, a harvest festival that marks the start of the Sikh New Year and is mostly observed in Punjab and northern India.

Pakistani authorities this year granted more than 6,500 visas to Indian Sikhs, a higher number than previous years. Visas to travel between the two countries are normally difficult to obtain, but the governments have a special arrangement that allows pilgrims to visit shrines and places of worship.