- Sep 20, 2004
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Pakistan authorities reportedly asked a group of 300 Indian Sikh pilgrims, who had arrived in the (Pakistan) Punjab capital Lahore last week, to cut short their visit to holy sites in that country and return to India earlier than scheduled, reports say.
The request followed a series of suicide terror-attacks across the country, the latest being the daring attack on the Army General Headquarters of the Pakistani Army in the high-profile garrison city of Rawalpindi in which eight militants, eight soldiers and three hostages were killed.
The Sikh pilgrims had come to Pakistan to attend 475th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Ramdas in Lahore. They are scheduled to visit Gurdwara Hassanabdal near Rawalpindi, and Gurdwara Janamasthan in Nankana Sahib before returning back to India Thursday.
They are also scheduled to visit holy places in other parts of Punjab province, but Pakistani authorities asked them to remain in Lahore after the attack on the Army's General Headquarters.
The pilgrims will now be returning Tuesday by the Samjhauta Express, a bi-weekly train--Tuesdays and Fridays--that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Wagah and Lahore in Pakistan.
Next month, about 5,000 Sikh devotees are to visit Pakistan on the occasion of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak birthday. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)--the custodian of all important Sikh places of worship in India--has expressed concern about the security and safety of the groups after the latest orders of the Pakistan authorities.
The request followed a series of suicide terror-attacks across the country, the latest being the daring attack on the Army General Headquarters of the Pakistani Army in the high-profile garrison city of Rawalpindi in which eight militants, eight soldiers and three hostages were killed.
The Sikh pilgrims had come to Pakistan to attend 475th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Ramdas in Lahore. They are scheduled to visit Gurdwara Hassanabdal near Rawalpindi, and Gurdwara Janamasthan in Nankana Sahib before returning back to India Thursday.
They are also scheduled to visit holy places in other parts of Punjab province, but Pakistani authorities asked them to remain in Lahore after the attack on the Army's General Headquarters.
The pilgrims will now be returning Tuesday by the Samjhauta Express, a bi-weekly train--Tuesdays and Fridays--that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Wagah and Lahore in Pakistan.
Next month, about 5,000 Sikh devotees are to visit Pakistan on the occasion of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak birthday. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)--the custodian of all important Sikh places of worship in India--has expressed concern about the security and safety of the groups after the latest orders of the Pakistan authorities.
