Islamabad: In an effort to increase religious tourism between India and Pakistan, the Islamabad government has forwarded a proposal from the Pakistan Hindu Council to Delhi, which would allow Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh pilgrims to fly to India.
This comes when trade and travel between India and Pakistan have come to a complete halt. According to a Pakistan, visitors from Pakistan will fly to neighbouring India for the first time in 75 years on January 29 on a special Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft.
Pilgrims from both countries have previously crossed the border on foot via the Wagha-Attari frontier or by train via the Samjhauta Express.
The Express Tribune said that an agreement was made between the PIA and Air India for the promotion of religious tourism between the two neighbouring countries, citing Member National Assembly and Chairman Pakistan Hindu Council Ramesh Kumar.
Both airlines will conduct special flights in this regard, according to the agreement. As per the Pakistani News Agency, a group of Pakistani tourists would depart from Lahore airport on January 29 and return on February 1.
Pakistani pilgrims will visit the dargah of Sufi saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer Sharif, Jaipur, Agra Mithra, Haridwar, and the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi during their three-day tour to India.
According to The Express Tribune, Dr Ramesh showed that each pilgrim’s visit would cost USD 1,500, plus an additional USD 200 if they wanted separate accommodation during their stay in Agra and Delhi.
Pilgrims can visit sacred sites in both Pakistan and India, thanks to a 1974 agreement between the two countries. The Waqf Property Board and the Ministry of Religious Affairs coordinated pilgrims’ entry and departure.
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ [email protected]
