Amritsar, Oct 31 (IANS) Despite the recent advice by the union home ministry asking Indian nationals to avoid travelling to Pakistan in view of the security situation there, a contingent of nearly 1,500 devotees Saturday crossed over into Pakistan to be part of Gurpurab - birth anniversary celebrations of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.
The contingent, comprising Sikhs and Hindus, including a number of women, left for Pakistan by a special train from the Attari border railway station, 25 km from here.

The group got visas for Pakistan late Friday from its embassy in New Delhi. They had applied to the embassy for visiting Pakistan through the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC).

The birth anniversary of the guru falls Monday.

The devotees are headed for Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak, near Lahore city in Pakistan.

The home ministry had this week advised Indian nationals to avoid travelling to Pakistan in view of the deteriorating security situation in that country and the rising number of terror attacks there.

Another group of over 150 devotees had privately left for Pakistan on the Samjhauta Express peace train between both countries Thursday.

A contingent of over 200 devotees who had gone to Sikh shrines in Pakistan earlier Oct had to cut short their visit after terrorists attacked the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi city.