Indian Hindu pilgrims perform religious rituals in Pak shrine

New Delhi, Jan 3: As many as 215 Hindu pilgrims, including 159 from India, performed religious rituals in the Samadhi of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj at Teri village in Pakistan, Dawn news reported.

The convoy of pilgrims arrived in Pakistan through Wagah border and then reached Peshawar by air. They were later transported to Teri Samadhi (shrine) in Karak district in tight security.

Karak police had made foolproof security arrangements on the occasion. The security was supervised by Karak district police officer Shafiullah Jan, while SP Investigation Zahir Shah was monitoring the security situation at the Samadhi.

Three DSPs along with a heavy contingent of police were deployed at the Samadhi.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA and patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani while appreciating the arrangements said the Karak police had performed their duties with full responsibility.

The pilgrims were mostly overwhelmed with emotions and they were praising the security as well as other arrangements made for them.

"We felt as if we have entered the paradise when we reached here," Dawn news quoted Varona Malohtra, a pilgrim from New Delhi, as saying.

She said that she was fortunate enough to visit this Samadhi and she felt so much spiritual peace at such a holy place.

The visibly emotional pilgrim hoped that in future pilgrims from both India and Pakistan would be visiting holy sites situated in both the countries.

"Because of the hospitality extended to us in Pakistan and specially in this province, we felt ourselves at home," she said.

Another pilgrim, Aishwar Das, said around 200 of the pilgrims had come from India of which 15 were from Delhi.

He said they arrived at the Samadhi on Saturday and had spent the night there. He hoped that such visits between the two countries would continue in future.

The Samadhi of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj is considered sacred by the Hindu community in different parts of the country as well as abroad, the Dawn news report said.
(IANS)