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| Indians advised against visiting Pak | | | Agencies
New Delhi, Oct, 27: As Pakistan witnesses a spurt in terror attacks, the Government today issued a travel advisory asking Indian pilgrims against visiting that country.
"Government of India is of the view that it is not advisable for Indian pilgrims to visit Pakistan in the prevailing situation when frequent terrorist attacks are taking place in Punjab province of Pakistan, where all Gurudwaras are situated," the advisory said.
The Home Ministry asked "all Indian citizens to avoid undertaking any visit to Pakistan for this purpose, till the security situation in Pakistan improves."
Pakistan has faced a spate of terror attacks recently in which suspected Taliban militia have struck at key installations, including the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and a nuclear base at Kamra.
The deluge of attacks has left more than 190 people dead this month.
On Friday a Pakistani official had said in Lahore that his government was yet to receive a word from their Indian counterparts on whether Sikh pilgrims will join festivities marking Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary though extensive security arrangements have been made for their visit.
He said the Ggovernment had planned to deploy paramilitary Pakistan Rangers for the security of the pilgrims, but had expressed the fear that the terror attacks, including three near-simultaneous strikes on security facilities in Lahore, could lead to many people cancelling their plans to visit the country.
"We received a list of 4,000 Sikhs (from the Indian Government) prior to the Lahore attacks, but after that the Indian side has not confirmed how many Sikhs are coming here via the Wagah border to observe Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary," Fraz Abbas, deputy director(shrines) of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, had said.
The ETPB is responsible for maintaining shrines of minority communities and organising visits by foreign pilgrims.
The main celebrations marking Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary will be held at Nankana Sahib, his birthplace located 80 km from Lahore.
In April, only 375 Indian Sikhs travelled to Pakistan to participate in the Baisakhi festival. This was in marked contrast to the 4,000 Sikhs who made the trip last year.
Similarly, about 300 Sikhs came to Pakistan this month to attend the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Ramdas but cut short their visit after an attack on the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
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