Pakistani Sikh pilgrims barred from flying to Hemkund Sahib after NOC demand

A Sikh pilgrimage convoy from Pakistan arrived at Faisalabad International Airport expecting to board a 2.10 am flight to Sharjah, followed by a connection to Delhi for the Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage. Airport immigration officials halted the group, insisting on a No Objection Certificate that the pilgrims said had never been part of the travel requirements. Leader Papinder Singh reported that Punjab’s Sikh minority minister Ramesh Arora and Evacuee Trust Property Board deputy secretary Nasir Mushtaq had met the pilgrims at Nankana Sahib and suggested they use the Attari-Wagah land crossing instead of flying.

The pilgrims, holding Indian visas for Delhi, Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib and Hemkund Sahib, missed their Sharjah flight and risk missing the pilgrimage altogether. They have spent nearly Pak Rs 2 crore on arrangements and are now praying at the airport while awaiting a government decision to allow a land route entry into India.