Over 100 Pak Sikh pilgrims en route to India stopped at Faisalabad airport

The 104 pilgrims, who had valid Indian visas, were scheduled to travel to New Delhi via Dubai. There is currently no direct air, rail or road link between Pakistan and India. The land and rail links were suspended following the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Operation Sindoor in 2025.

With the Wagah-Attari land route unavailable, the pilgrims opted for a considerably more expensive route via a third country.

An official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said the authorities stopped the pilgrims from boarding a Gulf-bound airline as they did not possess a return ticket and a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the federal government.