Government of India approves Jatha of 3,000 Sikh Devotees to Visit Pakistan on Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Prakash Purab: Kalka, Kahlon
The jatha will leave for Pakistan on November 22 and return on December 1
New Delhi, August 27: The Government of India has granted permission for a jatha of 3,000 Sikh devotees to visit Pakistan on the occasion of the Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism and the First Sikh Guru. The jatha will depart for Pakistan via the Wagah border on November 22 and return to India on December 1.
This was announced by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee President Harmeet Singh Kalka and General Secretary Jagdip Singh Kahlon.
Speaking to mediapersons here today, Kalka and Kahlon said that the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) had written to Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah on July 1, 2026, seeking permission for the pilgrimage. Accepting the committee’s request, the Home Minister approved the visit of a jatha comprising 3,000 Sikh devotees.
They said that during the 10-day pilgrimage, the jatha will visit and pay obeisance at Gurdwara Janam Asthan Sri Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore before returning to India.
They further stated that the Government of India has issued clear instructions that, following a thorough verification of all required documents, the Ministry of Home Affairs will forward the final list of approved pilgrims to the Government of Pakistan. The jatha will travel strictly in accordance with the approved list. They added that the Ministry of Home Affairs has also fixed quotas for the number of devotees from different states and regions who will be part of the jatha.
According to the approved quota, 555 devotees from Delhi will be sent through the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), 1,800 devotees from Punjab through the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), 200 from Haryana, 15 from Himachal Pradesh, 40 from Jammu and Kashmir, 16 from Jharkhand, 10 each from Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, 90 from Maharashtra, 10 from Odisha, 50 from Rajasthan, 35 from Uttar Pradesh, 25 from Uttarakhand, 5 from West Bengal and 45 from Chandigarh.
They said that, in accordance with the government’s guidelines, the jatha will cross the Wagah border and enter Pakistan on November 22 and will return to India via the same route on December 1.
They appealed to the Sikh Sangat to submit their passports and other required documents well in time so that the necessary approvals from the Ministry of Home Affairs can be obtained without delay.