by Ravinder Singh Robin
Amritsar/Delhi: The schedule for the 327th Vaisakhi Festival pilgrimage to Pakistan proposed from April 10 to April 19, 2026 has been released, with around 3,000 Sikh devotees expected to take part, subject to government approval.
Pilgrims will cross into Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border and visit historic Sikh shrines including Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Panja Sahib (Hassanabdal), Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur (Narowal), Gurdwara Rori Sahib (Eminabad, Gujranwala) and Gurdwara Dera Sahib (Lahore). The main ceremony, marking Khalsa Janam Din with the Bhog of Akhand Path Sahib, is scheduled for April 14 at Panja Sahib before the group returns to India on April 19.
Preparations are underway, but final permissions from the Government of India are still awaited, and authorities are expected to issue guidelines to ensure secure movement by road throughout the visit.
Concerns linger from the last pilgrimage: In November 2025, an Indian Sikh pilgrim, Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Kapurthala, went missing from a jatha after the group’s return date. Immigration records showed her name did not appear in exit or re-entry lists, raising alarm in India’s security establishment.
Subsequent reports indicate she married a Pakistani national and converted to Islam after remaining behind in Pakistan, adopting the name Noor Hussain. Pakistani authorities arrested her and moved her to a women’s shelter home in Lahore amid legal proceedings over visa overstay and deportation, with efforts ongoing to repatriate her to India.
The planned Vaisakhi pilgrimage comes at a time of strained relations between India and Pakistan, particularly after a deadly terror attack in Kashmir in 2025 that killed multiple Indian tourists, which led to the closure of the Attari–Wagah border crossing, suspension of bilateral treaties like the Indus Waters Treaty, and cancellation of visas.
Although occasional ceasefires have been observed, diplomatic and trade ties remain limited, and cross-border movement curtailed.
Experts say that successful and orderly conduct of the proposed Sikh jatha could boost people-to-people contact, but both security concerns and political sensitivities are being closely evaluated ahead of final approval. eom