Over 90 Pak Sikhs With Visas Barred From Boarding Indirect Flight to India

Lahore: Over 90 Pakistani Sikhs with visas for pilgrimage to Sri Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand were stopped by the immigration authorities on Friday from boarding an indirect flight to India, officials said.

As many as 92 Pakistani Sikhs, including women and children, arrived at the Faisalabad International Airport (some 150 km from Lahore) to catch an indirect flight to India, an official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told PTI.

However, the authorities stopped them from boarding a Gulf-bound airline as they did not possess a return ticket and a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the federal government, the official added.

"The immigration officials told them to produce an NOC from the federal government and the return ticket, after which they would be allowed to proceed to their destination," he said.

Currently, there is no direct air, rail or road link between Pakistan and India.

Another official from the federal government told PTI that the Sikhs in question had arranged their Indian visas through the Delhi Mandar Management Committee on their own.

"They should have coordinated with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee for their travel and preferred Wagah Border for crossing into India," he said, adding that it is likely that they may be allowed to go for pilgrimage via the Wagah Border.

In a video being widely shared online, a Pakistani Sikh at the Faisalabad airport is heard saying that the immigration authorities have stopped them from travelling to India.

"For the last four hours we are languishing at the Faisalabad airport...someone should take notice of this and help the pilgrims proceed to their destination," he said.

The other Sikh families were seen waiting at the airport premises.