Visa in Hand, But No NOC: 92 Pakistani Sikh Pilgrims Stopped at Airport
Immigration authorities stopped a group of 90 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims traveling to Uttarakhand's Sri Hemkund Sahib from boarding their flight after discovering they lacked return tickets and a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the federal government.
By The Slate Staff Bureau
Lahore, September 11: More than 90 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims travelling to Uttarakhand's Sri Hemkund Sahib were stopped by immigration authorities at Faisalabad airport on Friday from boarding a flight to India, officials said.
As many as 92 pilgrims, including women and children, reached Faisalabad International Airport, around 150 km from Lahore, to board a Gulf-bound flight that would have taken them to India via an indirect route, a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official told PTI.
However, immigration authorities stopped the group from boarding the flight after finding that they did not have return tickets and a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the federal government, the official said.
The pilgrims were told to produce both documents before they could proceed with their journey.
"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," the official said.
The episode comes amid the lack of direct air, rail or road connectivity between Pakistan and India, meaning pilgrims travelling from Pakistan must use permitted routes and follow the required travel procedures to enter India.
A second federal government official said the pilgrims had obtained their Indian visas independently through the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.
According to the official, the group should have coordinated its travel arrangements with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which manages Sikh pilgrimage-related matters in Pakistan.
The official said the pilgrims could instead be allowed to travel to India through the Wagah-Attari border, the traditional land crossing between the two countries.
The incident has left the Sikh families waiting at the Faisalabad airport as they seek clearance to continue their journey to the shrine.
A video circulating widely online showed one of the Pakistani Sikh pilgrims appealing for help from the airport. He said the group had been waiting for around four hours after immigration officials 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 in the video.
Other Sikh families, including women and children, were seen waiting inside the airport premises.
Sri Hemkund Sahib, one of the most revered Sikh pilgrimage sites, is located in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. Pakistani Sikh pilgrims regularly travel to religious sites in India, but such journeys require coordination between the two countries and compliance with visa and travel requirements.
