In a significant development marking a thaw in strained relations, over 2,100 Indian Sikh pilgrims crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday, the first major border crossing since deadly clashes in May. The pilgrims were granted visas to attend a 10-day festival celebrating the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. The Wagah-Attari border, the only active land crossing between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, had been closed to general traffic following the May conflict, which saw over 70 casualties in missile, drone, and artillery exchanges. AFP journalists observed pilgrims queuing on the Indian side, some carrying luggage on their heads, before being welcomed by Pakistani officials with flowers and rose petals. The pilgrims will visit sacred sites, including Nankana Sahib, Guru Nanak’s birthplace, and Kartarpur, where he is buried. Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi emphasized that the visa issuance aligns with efforts to promote inter-religious harmony. However, the Kartarpur Corridor, a visa-free route opened in 2019, remains closed since the conflict. The May clashes erupted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack on tourists in Kashmir, a claim Pakistan denied. Sikhism, a monotheistic religion originating in the 15th century in Punjab, has its most revered shrines in Pakistan, a legacy of the 1947 partition that divided British India into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.