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Around 92 Sikh pilgrims from Pakistan were stopped at Faisalabad International Airport on Friday while preparing to travel to India for a religious pilgrimage, leaving them stranded at the airport over a No Objection Certificate (NOC) requirement.

The pilgrims were scheduled to travel from Faisalabad to Sharjah at 2:10 a.m. and then fly onwards to Delhi. However, immigration officials stopped the group and sought an NOC before allowing them to board the flight, according to jatha leader Papinder Singh.

The pilgrims were travelling to India to mark the Prakash Parv of Sri Guru Granth Sahib at Sri Harmandir Sahib and visit Sri Hemkund Sahib and gurdwaras in Delhi.

Pilgrims Say NOC Requirement Was Not Raised Earlier

Singh said that before the group reached the airport, Pakistan Punjab's Sikh minority minister and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Ramesh Arora, along with Evacuee Trust Property Board deputy secretary Nasir Mushtaq, had met the pilgrims at Nankana Sahib.

According to Singh, the officials allegedly pressured the group not to travel to India by air and instead suggested that they travel by road through the Attari-Wagah border.

Singh said the NOC requirement had not been raised with the pilgrims earlier. He claimed the group asked Arora to provide the document when immigration officials sought it, but Arora expressed his inability to do so, reported The Times of India.

The pilgrims said they had already been issued Indian visas covering Delhi, Amritsar, Sri Anandpur Sahib and Sri Hemkund Sahib.

‘We Have Already Missed Our Flights’

The group has now missed its scheduled Faisalabad-Sharjah flight and risks missing its onward flight to Delhi.

“We have already missed our Faisalabad-Sharjah flight and will also miss our onward flight from Sharjah to Delhi,” Singh said.

“Had we been allowed to travel as scheduled, we would have reached Delhi by Friday evening,” he added.

The latest development comes amid difficulties faced by Pakistani Sikh pilgrims following the closure of the Attari-Wagah land border.

Singh said India had issued visas to 92 Sikh devotees seeking to visit Sri Hemkund Sahib, but the pilgrims had been forced to take a costly air route. He said the group had spent nearly Pakistani Rs 2 crore on travel and other arrangements and was now “highly disappointed”.

Jatha Seeks Permission To Travel Via Attari-Wagah

The pilgrims have appealed to the Pakistan government to grant them special permission to cross into India through the Attari-Wagah land route so they can continue their pilgrimage.

“We are sitting at the airport, waiting for the Pakistan government to resolve the issue and allow us to proceed to India via the land route,” Singh said.

The pilgrims have also questioned why they were being stopped from travelling for religious purposes, with members expressing frustration over the treatment they received at the airport.