Amritsar, April 8 -- The Pakistan High Commission has granted over 2,800 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims for the Khalsa foundation day (Baisakhi festival) celebrations that begin on April 10. According to Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Harmeet Singh Kalka, a total of 2,840 devotees from across India have received clearance from both governments to undertake the pilgrimage. This will be only the second Sikh jatha to visit Pakistan since Operation Sindoor in May 2025 and the largest so far amid the curbs imposed by India on cross-border travel. Before this, 1,932 pilgrims had travelled to Pakistan in November 2025 for the birth anniversary of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak. During the 10-day Baisakhi pilgrimage, devotees will travel to Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border and visit key Sikh shrines, including Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib (the birthplace of Guru Nanak) and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib (the final resting place of Guru Nanak). From Punjab, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will send a jatha of 1,763 pilgrims. SGPC secretary Balwinder Singh Kahalwan said 1,795 passports were submitted to the Pakistan High Commission. While visas were granted to 1,763 applicants, 32 were turned down. The SGPC jatha will depart from its headquarters in Amritsar on April 10 and return on April 19 after attending the main Baisakhi event at Panja Sahib, some 400 km from Lahore, and visiting other historical gurdwaras. Pilgrims have been instructed to collect their passports from the SGPC office on April 9 during working hours. Apart from SGPC, visas have been issued to multiple Sikh bodies. DSGMC received 409 visas (out of 451 applicants), Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) 255 (out of 275), while others include pilgrims from Jammu (176), Uttar Pradesh (78), Uttarakhand (35) and a 114-member jatha led by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). Kalka said despite global tensions, efforts were made to ensure a smooth pilgrimage, though around 100 applicants could not be issued visas due to passport-related technical issues. Baisakhi, celebrated as the Khalsa Sajna Diwas, holds immense religious significance for Sikhs worldwide, commemorating the formation of the Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. The Nehru-Liaquat Pact of 1950 allows Sikh pilgrims to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan on four religious occasions - the foundation day of Khalsa Panth (Baisakhi), martyrdom anniversary of the fifth Sikh master, Guru Arjan, the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak. But after the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025, the Union government barred Indian citizens from travelling to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border checkpost. In response, Pakistan suspended all Saarc Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas for Indian nationals, with the exception of Sikh pilgrims. Days before the Pahalgam attack, 5,800 Indian Sikh pilgrims had visited Pakistan gurdwaras on Baisakhi. This was the largest number of Sikh pilgrims to have visited Pakistan so far....