LAHORE: Around 100 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims, including women and children, were stopped at Faisalabad International Airport on Friday from travelling to India to perform religious rituals at Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib, after the immigration authorities raised questions over their travel documents and arrangements.
The pilgrims, who had secured Indian visas independently, arrived at the airport to board a Gulf-bound flight for onward travel to India. However, immigration officials prevented them from proceeding, citing the absence of return tickets and a no objection certificate (NOC) from the relevant federal ministry, according to a senior Punjab government official.
The official told Dawn that the pilgrims had obtained their Indian visas without involving the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) or the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), the bodies generally associated with facilitating Sikh pilgrimage-related travel.
“Interestingly, they opted to travel to India through the Gulf rather than using the Wagah border,” the official said.
Authorities say they didn’t have return tickets and lacked NOC from ministry
Pakistan and India currently have no direct air, rail or regular road travel link, making pilgrimage journeys particularly complicated. The pilgrims had, therefore, planned to reach India through an indirect air route.
The situation at the airport triggered distress among the pilgrims, with videos circulating on social media showing Sikh passengers appealing to the authorities to allow them to proceed.
In one video, a Pakistani Sikh said the group had been waiting at the airport for around four hours after being stopped by immigration officials.
“We have been languishing at the Faisalabad airport for the last four hours. Someone should take notice of our plight and help us proceed to our destination,” he said.
Another affected pilgrim made an emotional appeal to the government, urging it to allow the group to travel to India so that they could perform their religious obligations at the sacred Sikh shrine.
Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib, located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, is one of the most revered Sikh pilgrimage sites in India. The shrine is associated with Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru.
An official source told Dawn that the government had taken notice of the matter and was considering allowing the pilgrims to travel to India via the Wagah border.
The development comes at a time when religious travel between Pakistan and India remains subject to heightened scrutiny and complicated procedures because of the absence of normal bilateral transport links.
(Tariq Saeed From Toba Tek Singh also contributed to this report)
Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2026
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