Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world arrive in Pakistan for annual religious festivities

Описание: (6 Nov 2025)
PAKISTAN SIKH FESTIVAL

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

LENGTH: 3:12

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nankana Sahib, Pakistan - 5 November 2025
1. Various of Sikh pilgrims marking the annual commemoration of the birth of their religion’s founder, Guru Nanak
2. Sikh pilgrims arriving at temple for celebration marking 556 years since the birth of Guru Nanak
3. SOUNDBITE (Punjabi) Jagseer Singh, pilgrim:
"Our eyes yearn to see the Nankana Sahib. For God's sake, it is our request to all concerned authorities of both governments to not stop us from visiting the Nankana Sahib. Whoever wants to go, should be allowed to go. We get (new) life again after visiting the Nankana Sahib."

4. Various of pilgrims offering prayers at temple
5. Various of pilgrims reading from holy book and offering prayers
6. SOUNDBITE (Punjabi) Gurdeep Kaur, pilgrim:
"Our forefathers used to tell us that Pakistan was a very beautiful country and they (forefathers) had owned several lands in Pakistan. We wondered whether we'd get to see these lands or not. I am very grateful to the Pakistani government which has granted us visas, warmly welcomed us and shown hospitality, and that we were able to see the Nankana Sahib."

7. Women making bread for the devotees
8. Various of pilgrims receiving food and eating
9. Pilgrims observing celebration rituals
10. Exterior of Nankana Sahib temple
11. SOUNDBITE (Punjabi) Parmindar Singh, pilgrim:
"As both governments (India and Pakistan) gave us visas with love, we want both countries to live together in peace. And people should be allowed to meet without any restrictions. It is our wish that the visa restrictions on both people from both countries be lifted, so that they can see each other."

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wagah border, Pakistan - 4 November 2025
12. Various of Indian pilgrims arriving at border
13. Pilgrims boarding vehicle for the pilgrimage
STORYLINE:
Thousands of Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world gathered in Pakistan to celebrate the annual commemoration of the birth of their religion’s founder, Guru Nanak.

The 10-day-long celebration marks the 556 years since the birth of Guru Nanak, whose shrine, the second-holiest place in the Sikh faith, is located on the Ravi River just 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) from the border with India.

More than 2,000 Sikh pilgrims from India arrived in eastern Pakistan to join the annual commemoration, marking the first people-to-people contact between the two countries since a brief war in May.

The pilgrims went to Lahore before traveling to Nankana Sahib, a city in the Punjab province where the shrine of Guru Nanak is located.

The Wagah border crossing, closed for months because of tensions surrounding the border conflict, was reopened by Pakistani authorities to facilitate the pilgrimage, government official Nasir Mushtaq said.

"Our eyes yearn to see the Nankana Sahib. For God's sake, it is our request to all concerned authorities of both governments to not stop us from visiting the Nankana Sahib," said Jagseer Singh, a pilgrim.

Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations, and tensions between them escalated in April after New Delhi accused Pakistan of supporting militants who launched an attack that killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan denied the claim and called for an international investigation.

In the months that followed, diplomatic ties were downgraded, border crossings were closed and the two sides traded cross-border military strikes.




Sikhs are a tiny minority in Muslim-majority Pakistan.





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