New Delhi, April 9 (IANS): In a gesture of goodwill, the Pakistan High Commission has issued a total of 2,843 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in the annual Baisakhi festivities.

Scheduled to be celebrated on April 13, the festival holds cultural and religious significance for the Sikh community, as it marks the beginning of the Sikh New Year.

Despite ongoing tensions between the two nations, the tradition of Indian pilgrims visiting Sikh holy shrines in Pakistan for Baisakhi goes on. Pilgrims would visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib.

Emphasising heritage and cultural exchanges, this move transcends political divides between two not-so-friendly south-Asian neighbours.

Every year, a large number of Sikh pilgrims from India visit Pakistan under the framework of the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines.

Pakistan's Charge d’ Affaires Saad Ahmad Warraich extended his heartfelt felicitations to all those celebrating this auspicious festival and wished the visiting pilgrims a fulfilling yatra.