India allows 'select' Sikh groups to travel to Pakistan for Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary

The Indian government has allowed select groups of Sikh devotees to visit Pakistan for a 10-day festival in connection with the birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism.

This is the first major cross-border travel after the May military conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

According to Indian media reports on Saturday, New Delhi has decided to permit selected groups of Sikh devotees to cross the border for the festival.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi announced that it has granted more than 2,100 visas to Indian pilgrims. Large crowds are expected to travel to Nankana Sahib where Guru Nanak was born, located about 85 kilometers west of the India-Pakistan border. The festivities are set to begin on Tuesday.

Relations between the two countries remain tense following deadly clashes earlier this year.

More than 70 people were killed in exchanges involving missiles, drones, and artillery — the most intense fighting since the 1999 conflict. Cross-border travel and trade were subsequently suspended.

The conflict was triggered by an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-illegally occupied Kashmir, which reignited hostilities between New Delhi and Islamabad and led to months of heightened military activity along the frontier.