Pakistan High Commission grants 463 visas for Indian Sikh pilgrims

463 Sikh pilgrims from India have been issued visas by Pakistan so that they can visit the country and observe the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. According to news reports, the Sikh pilgrims who were given visas to visit Pakistan from June 14 to June 23 to celebrate the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev Ji but could not go then, have also been accommodated by the Pakistan High Commission.
The pilgrims who are granted visa would be visiting Pakistan from June 27 to July 6 to observe the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Also, Sikh pilgrims from around the world have been granted visas to take part in the pilgrimage.


As a fact, thousands of pilgrims from India get to visit Pakistan, thanks to the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, 1974. Of course, there is so much shared history and culture between the two Asian countries that such visits are natural.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh is a much-revered figure for the Sikhs, as he was the leader of the Sikh Empire ruling northwest Indian subcontinent during the early half of the 19th century. He was famously given the title of the Maharaja of Punjab at the age of 21, due to his ability to fight and drive Afghans away from Sikh land.

He passed away in Lahore in the year 1839 at the age of 58, but not without a legacy.