Pakistan gurudwara reopens in Guru Nanak's birthplace

Lahore: A pre-Partition gurudwara in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak, has been reopened in Pakistan's Punjab province.

"Gurudwara Kiyara Sahib which was closed over 75 years ago has finally been reopened for the yatris," Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) spokesman Amer Hashmi told PTI today.

He said thousands of Sikhs gathered in Nankana Sahib to attend the festivities on the 548th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak visited Kiyara Sahib yesterday when it was reopened by ETPB chairman Siddiqul Farooq.

Farooq also laid a foundation stone of a memorial of Bhai Mardana, a close associate of Guru Nanak, in Nankana Sahib.

He said Gurudwara Kiyara Sahib has been reopened on the wish of Sikh 'yatris'.

He said on November 19, Angetha Sahib at Darbar Sahib Kartarpur will be reopened and the groundbreaking ceremony for the Baba Guru Nanak University in Nankana Sahib is scheduled for January.

Yesterday the main event of Palki was held in Gurudwara Janamasthan Nankana Sahib, 80 kms from Lahore, in which more than 15,000 people mostly Sikh pilgrims from India (2,100), US, Canada, Britain and other European countries participated.

Indian?Sikhs will also visit other gurudwaras in Punjab province before their departure for home?on November 21.