100 Indian pilgrims to visit Pakistan temple this week

Islamabad: After a break of one year, some 100 Hindu pilgrims from India were due to arrive at the Katas Raj temple in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Saturday, the media reported. “Hindu pilgrims will cross the Wagah Border on Friday and will reach Katas Raj the next day,” Deputy Secretary Evacuee Property Trust Board (ETPB) Syed Faraz Abbas told Dawn news on Wednesday, adding that the state government has made arrangements for 200 pilgrims.

Indian pilgrims normally visit Katas Raj twice a year, once in November or December and



once in February. The previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had launched a project of building a 36-room hostel for pilgrims but it is yet to be completed.

Chakwal Deputy Commissioner retired Capt Abdul Sattar Esani chaired a meeting on Tuesday to review arrangements being made for the Indian pilgrims. The Katas Raj temple is a complex of several Hindu temples connected to one another by walkways. The complex surrounds a pond named Katas which is regarded as sacred by Hindus.