SIKH community leaders have urged the Indian government to lift its recently imposed ban on pilgrims travelling to Pakistan to visit the shrine of their faith’s founder Guru Nanak.

The appeal came from Mahesh Singh, vice-president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the official body that manages the numerous Sikh shrines in Pakistan.

His remarks followed the Indian government’s September 12 decision to deny permission for Sikhs to cross into Pakistan for Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary, citing security concerns. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.

The dispute highlights broader tensions between India and Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended visas after tit-for-tat missile strikes in May and an earlier deadly attack in disputed Kashmir. Though a ceasefire has held, travel between the nuclear-armed rivals remains heavily restricted.

Despite the strained ties, Pakistani officials say Sikh and other religious pilgrims from India are still welcome to visit shrines in Pakistan under existing arrangements.

Many of Sikhism’s holiest sites ended up in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947.

But Pakistani officials said they were still making arrangements to facilitate Indian pilgrims visiting the Kartarpur shrine, which is located in eastern Punjab’s recently flood-hit Narowal district, about 2.8 miles from the border.

The shrine is considered the second-holiest site in Sikhism.