New Delhi, (Samajweekly) A total of 16,831 Indians have visited Pakistan on pilgrimage in the last five years while 2,119 Pakisatnis have come to India during this period, the Parliament was told on Thursday.
Visits of pilgrims between India and Pakistan are covered under the ‘Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, 1974’ wherein pilgrimages to 15 shrines in Pakistan and six shrines in India are facilitated Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
In 2017,as many as 2,211 Indians visited Pakistan while 984 Pakistani nationals came to India, while 3,812 and 574, respectively, did in 2018, 4,273 and 242 did in 2019, 1,330 and 248 did in 2020, 5,425 and 70 did in 2021 while no pilgrim from either side visited in 2022 so far.
Muraleedharan also said that India regularly liaises with Pakistan authorities to facilitate pilgrimages including arrangement for transportation, security, accommodation, medical facility etc for the pilgrims during their visits under the above Protocol.
In addition to this, India and Pakistan signed an agreement on October 24, 2019 for the facilitation of pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan. The agreement, inter alia, provides for visa-free travel of Indian pilgrims as well as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders, from India to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on a daily basis, throughout the year.
The Minister also said that some Pakistani nationals belonging to minority communities, mainly Hindus and Sikhs, who came to India on Group Pilgrim Visas have not returned to Pakistan because of “religious persecution”.
