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More than 2,000 Sikh pilgrims from India arrived in eastern Pakistan on Tuesday to join an annual commemoration of the birth of their religion’s founder, officials said, marking the first people-to-people contact since a brief military conflict in May.
The Wagah border crossing in Punjab, closed for months because of tensions triggered by the conflict, was reopened by Pakistani authorities to facilitate the pilgrimage, Nasir Mushtaq, a government official, said.
The pilgrims arrived in Lahore before traveling to Nankana Sahib city where the shrine of Guru Nanak is located.
“Granting visas to Sikh pilgrims and reopening the border demonstrates Pakistan’s respect for religious minorities and commitment to fostering cultural ties, despite ongoing political disputes,” Mr Mushtaq said.
Sikhs are a tiny minority in Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and tensions escalated in April after Delhi accused Islamabad of supporting militants who launched an attack that killed 26 tourists in the restive Himalayan region of Kashmir. Pakistan denied the claim and called for an international investigation.
In the months that followed, diplomatic ties were downgraded, border crossings closed and the two sides traded military strikes.
The fighting between the nuclear-armed rivals ended after US president Donald Trump said he had brokered a ceasefire to prevent a wider conflict.
However, the two sides have yet to fully restore diplomatic ties, trade or the movement of people.
