(BSS/AFP) - Dozens of Sikh pilgrims from India crossed into Pakistan Tuesday, AFP journalists saw, in the first major crossing since deadly clashes in May closed the land border between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

The pilgrims, visiting to attend festivities marking the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, were welcomed by Pakistani officials who presented them with flowers and showered them with rose petals at the Wagah-Attari border.

Tensions remain high between Islamabad and New Delhi after the worst fighting since 1999 erupted in May, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery exchanges.