Sikh jatha returns home from Pakistan

Amritsar,Punjab: A Sikh jatha, comprising more than 2,000 members, that had gone to Pakistan to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev returned on Tuesday. The jatha members expressed satisfaction over the visit and praised the government of Pakistan for the security cover given to them during the visit. The pilgrims returned in special trains which reached the Attari railway station on Tuesday morning.

Appreciating the arrangements in Pakistan, pilgrim Harbans Singh from Jammu said, “We had a very comfortable visit and also the entire jatha was looked after very well by the authorities in Pakistan. Security arrangements were commendable and we never got a feeling that we were in a foreign country.”

All praise for the Pakistan government, another pilgrim, Harjeet Kaur, who hailed from New Delhi, said, “It was a great visit and we visited Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib and some other places. There was no hurdle.”

Security was tight and it was only in Panja Sahib that we were not allowed to move out, she added.

Talking of the ‘nagar kirtan’ that was taken out after many years, Surinder Singh said, “Although the stretch through which the ‘nagar kirtan’ was carried out was small but it felt great. Not only the government supported it but also the locals were equally receptive.”

The pilgrims however were unhappy with the arrangements at Attari. Pilgrims were left stranded at Attari station and they had to come back to Amritsar on their own.

 Source: HT