159 Indian Hindu pilgrims arrive in Pakistan, to also visit Katas Raj temple

Islamabad: A total of 159 Indian Hindu pilgrims who arrived in Pakistan via the Wagah land border will visit the Katas Raj temple in Punjab’s Chakwal district as well as the ancient Teri temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The 159 yatris, who are on a four-day visit to Pakistan, were flown by the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) from Lahore to Peshawar en route to Karak district, where they would visit the century-old Teri temple.

Pakistan's national flag carrier on Saturday operated a special flight to facilitate the Indian pilgrims, who earlier in the day arrived in Pakistan through the Wagah-Attari border, Samaa reported.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s Ramesh Kumar Vankwani received the yatris at the Wagah border.

They were then flown to Peshawar where they would make a one-day stopover before proceeding to Karak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The pilgrims would visit the Teri temple in Karak.

The temple in Teri village of Karak is devoted to Paramhans Ji Maharaj, a Hindu saint who died in 1919, and it houses his mausoleum.

It is the same temple that was restored on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan after vandalism in 2020. The apex court had also ordered the authorities to recover Rs34 million from the attackers to cover the damages.

A total of 250 Hindu yatris from the UAE, the US, India, and other countries are visiting the temple at the invitation of the Pakistan Hindu Council.

Ramesh Kumar Vankwani told reporters that there would be exchange of delegations between Pakistan and India every month.

"The year 2022 will begin between Pakistan and India with religious tourism," he said, and added that trade visits would also follow soon.

Vankwani said the two countries would return to the old policy of people to people contact.

Separately, Hindu community members belonging to Sindh and representatives of the Pakistan Hindu Council also visited the Teri temple. (UNI)