ISLAMABAD – Pakistan issued visas to two groups of 47 Indian Hindu pilgrims during December intending to visit Katas Raj temples in Chakwal and Shandani Darbar in Sukkur, according to the High Commission in New Delhi.
The pilgrims will visit Shree Katas Raj Temples, also known as Qila Katas or complex of Katas Temples in Chakwal district of Punjab, Pakistan from December 23-29.
The Katas Raj temples surround a sacred pond to Hindu devotees.
Another group of 44 Indian Hindu Yatrees returned from Pakistan on Monday, where they participated in the 312th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Shiv Avtari Satguru Sant Shadaram Sahib, at Sukkur, Sindh from December 15-21.
More than three centuries old temple, Shadani Darbar, is a holy place for devotees from across the world.
The temple was founded in 1786 by Sant Shadaram Sahib, who was born in Lahore in 1708.
Thousands of Indian Sikh and Hindu pilgrims visit Pakistan under the bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, to observe several religious festivals/occasions every year. The visas issued from New Delhi are in addition to the visas granted to Sikh and Hindu pilgrims participating in these events from other countries.
