Islamabad, Nov 18 (PTI) Pakistan on Thursday welcomed hundreds of Sikh devotees arriving from India and around the world for the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.

Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmed said at the weekly media briefing here that Pakistan was hosting thousands of the Sikh pilgrims arriving from all over the world.

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"Let me begin by extending very warm felicitations to the Sikh Community in Pakistan, India and across the world on the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak," he said at the start of the briefing.

He said that pilgrims were also coming in through the Kartarpur Corridor since Wednesday after India's decision to re-open the corridor from its side.

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"Despite short notice, Pakistan responded promptly to facilitate the yatrees coming through the Kartarpur Corridor," he said.

The over four-km long Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district. Pilgrimage to the gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

India had decided to reopen the Kartarpur corridor from Wednesday, ahead of Gurpurab, which marks the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, on November 19.

Besides the Kartarpur Corridor, pilgrims from India were also coming through Wagah border, the spokesman said, adding that pilgrims were coming from many other countries.

Over 2,500 Indian Sikh pilgrims have arrived in Pakistan this week via the Wagah border crossing.

During their stay in Pakistan, they will offer prayers at different Gurdwaras including Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

"In addition to issuance of visas by our High Commission in New Delhi and other Embassies, a series of activities have been planned from 17-26 November to commemorate this sacred event,” he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)