More than 100 Pakistani Sikh pilgrims with valid Indian visas were stopped at Faisalabad International Airport while travelling to India for the Sri Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage. Pakistani immigration officials reportedly asked the group to produce a No Objection Certificate (NOC) before allowing them to board their flight.

India had issued visas to 104 Sikh devotees for the pilgrimage. The group planned to fly from Faisalabad to Sharjah before taking an onward flight to New Delhi. The pilgrims had chosen the more expensive third-country route after they could not travel to India through the Wagah-Attari land crossing.

The group waited at the airport for clearance but missed its scheduled flights. The delay caused major financial losses and put their pilgrimage plans at risk. Jatha leader Papinder Singh said the group was scheduled to leave Faisalabad for Sharjah at 2.10 am on Friday and then travel to Delhi.

Singh said the pilgrims had not received any prior information about an NOC requirement. Officials raised the issue only after the group reached the airport. The visas issued to the devotees covered Delhi, Amritsar, Sri Anandpur Sahib and Sri Hemkund Sahib.

A video from Faisalabad airport accessed by CNN-News18 shows a distressed pilgrim questioning the demand for an NOC despite the group carrying Pakistani passports with valid Indian visas.

“We have been issued visas on Pakistani passports, so what right do immigration officials have to ask civilians for an NOC?" he said.

The pilgrim said the group members were not government employees and do not face any criminal restrictions. He also questioned why authorities had not informed them about the requirement before they reached the airport.

“We are not government employees. We have our passports and visas," he said, accusing the authorities of failing to properly guide the pilgrims before stopping their journey.

The delay resulted in the pilgrims missing both their Faisalabad-Sharjah flight and their onward flight to Delhi. Singh said the devotees would have reached Delhi by Friday evening had they been allowed to travel as scheduled.

The group had already spent a substantial amount on the journey after losing access to the direct land route. Singh said the pilgrims had spent nearly Pakistani Rs 2 crore on travel arrangements.

Singh also alleged that Pakistan Punjab’s Sikh minority minister, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Ramesh Arora and Evacuee Trust Property Board deputy secretary Nasir Mushtaq had met the group at Nankana Sahib before its airport departure.

According to Singh, the officials advised the pilgrims against travelling to India by air and told them they would instead be sent through the Attari-Wagah land route. The pilgrims later appealed to the Pakistan government to facilitate their pilgrimage by allowing them to cross into India through Wagah-Attari.

Singh said the group remained at the airport while waiting for authorities to resolve the issue and allow them to continue their journey.