An old image of a woman commando guarding Indian Sikhs as they arrive in Pakistan for a religious tour has gone viral over the internet.
Captured at Wagah Railway Station back in 2015, the startling picture reflects many things, but respect is the common emotion one can feel out of it.
Serving two purposes, while the image dissolves religious differences between the two countries, it also buries stereotypes about Pakistan regarding women.
Thousands of Indian pilgrims arrive in Pakistan every year by a special train to participate in the three-day festival marking the birth anniversary of their spiritual leader Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
KARTARPUR CORRIDOR:
Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary is being observed this year and thousands of Sikhs from across the globe have converged in Nankana Sahib. What makes the occasion special this year is that it also marks the opening of Kartarpur Corridor between Pakistan and India.
Notwithstanding a chill in bilateral ties over occupied Kashmir, the two countries, after tough negotiations, signed a landmark agreement last week, to operationalise the corridor allowing Indian pilgrims to visit the holy Sikh shrine.
The three-day event will be held from November 10 to 12 in the Punjab district — the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak — located around 80km from Lahore.
According to The Express Tribune, it will coincide with a separate event in the border town of Kartarpur, which also houses a historic Gurdwara — Sikh house of worship — where Guru Nanak settled and died in 1539.
The two neighbouring countries have decided that 5,000 pilgrims from India can visit this shrine daily without showing travel permits.
