Over 2,100 Indian Sikh Pilgrims Enter Pakistan via Wagah-Attari Border Crossing

A palpable blend of religious fervor and quiet diplomacy was on full display at the Wagah-Attari border crossing this week as over 2,100 Indian Sikh pilgrims were welcomed into Pakistan, marking the first major organized land crossing between the two nuclear-armed neighbours since hostilities escalated sharply in May. The movement of devotees, crossing the ceremonial frontier to celebrate the birth anniversary of Sikhism’s founder, Guru Nanak Dev, signals a notable, if fragile, thaw in relations that had been all but frozen following the deadliest clashes since the Kargil conflict in 1999.

The atmosphere at the border, typically defined by the aggressive theatrics of the daily flag-lowering ceremony, was notably different. AFP journalists have observed hundreds of pilgrims streaming across the border with their luggage, many wearing garlands and chanting religious hymns. They were reportedly met by Pakistani officials, who showered them with rose petals and presented them with flowers, a symbolic gesture of hospitality designed to underscore the apolitical, purely polito-religious nature of the visit. Nasir Mushtaq, a senior official at Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry, was quoted as saying that the pilgrims were being welcomed with “greater respect, honour and hospitality than ever before,” intending to leave a “lasting impression of love, peace and respect.” This sentiment was largely reciprocated by the pilgrims; one, Parvinder Kaur, told reporters, “We have nothing to do with the war. We often watched videos of the shrines and dreamed of coming here, and now, we are finally here for the first time.” Another pilgrim, Valeti Singh, remarked that the warm welcome made them feel “among our own people,” expressing a hope that Pakistanis visiting India would receive the same warmth.

The pilgrimage, a 10-day festival to mark the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, is scheduled to include visits to key Sikh shrines, primarily Nankana Sahib, the founder’s birthplace located west of Lahore, and later to Kartarpur Sahib, the site of his final resting place. This movement of people comes at a critical time. Following a militant attack that killed tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in April, New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the militants, a claim Islamabad denied. The ensuing four days of conflict in May saw missile, drone, and artillery exchanges that left over 70 people dead and led to a drastic scaling back of all diplomatic and travel ties. The Wagah-Attari land crossing, the only active route for general traffic between the two nations, was completely closed, and India had suspended the issuance of most new visas to Pakistani nationals. The Kartarpur Corridor, the visa-free route opened in 2019 specifically for Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the shrine, also remains closed since the conflict.

The decision by Pakistan’s High Commission to issue over 2,100 visas to the Sikh pilgrims and facilitate the reopening of the border for this religious purpose is being viewed by analysts as a calculated move. Pakistan’s government, whose High Commission in New Delhi said the decision was consistent with efforts to promote “inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony and understanding,” appears to be leveraging cultural and religious ties as a non-political conduit to re-engage. For a country that has been pushing for normalization, albeit on its own terms, allowing this large-scale pilgrimage provides a crucial opportunity to project a stable, benevolent image, particularly after the global focus on the security situation had intensified. Conversely, for the Indian government, which had imposed strict travel curbs post-May, reversing its stance to allow the pilgrims to cross is a necessary accommodation of its own domestic religious constituency. The pilgrimage route holds deep spiritual significance for millions of Sikhs worldwide, and blocking the movement was politically untenable over the long term, despite the deep mutual mistrust that currently defines the state-to-state relationship.

This event is not simply a religious journey; it is a vital, albeit limited, experiment in people-to-people diplomacy. In an environment where high-level official dialogues are non-existent and the exchange of trade and general tourism remains entirely suspended, these religious movements provide one of the very few points of contact that continue to function, even sporadically. As the pilgrims head deeper into Punjab, traversing the same land partitioned by a colonial decree in 1947, a division that placed many of Sikhism’s holiest sites in Pakistan, the joyous sound of their chants carries a geopolitical significance that stretches far beyond the sacred texts. The challenge for both capitals, however, remains translating this religious goodwill into a lasting basis for diplomatic engagement to prevent the next inevitable political or military crisis from once again severing these fundamental human connections. The movement of the Jathas, or pilgrim groups, may be temporary, but the message of peace and mutual respect they carry, however brief their presence, offers a rare moment of optimism in a relationship otherwise defined by enduring volatility.