Kartarpur: Pak to issue tourist visas to non-indian Sikhs

LAHORE: The Pakistan government will issue tourist visas to non-indian Sikhs visiting the Kartarpur corridor and other ‘gurdwaras’ in the country during the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev.

Under the Kartarpur Corridor agreement between India and Pakistan, pilgrims coming from India for one day would not require visa but they can only visit Gurudwara Baba Guru Nanak. However, those coming from other countries will need a visa and be free to visit other religious places.

“The Pakistan government will issue tourist visas to (nonindian) Sikhs coming from Europe, Canada and America for their visit to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur Narowal, some 125kms from Lahore,” said a source in the Pakistan Foreign Office.

The official said Indian pilgrims will have to obtain a visa for touring other holy sites in Pakistan.

India and Pakistan signed the historic Kartarpur corridor agreement on October 24. The agreement will allow 5,000 Indian pilgrims daily to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib where Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life.

The Kartarpur corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just 4km from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Indian side of the corridor on November 8, his Pakistani counterpart will open the corridor on November 9.

80 IMMIGRATION COUNTERS SET UP

Pakistan has set up 80 immigration counters at the Kartarpur Corridor to speed up the clearance process of the large number of pilgrims who are expected to visit the holy shrine.

Pakistan’s interior ministry has built three entry gates to facilitate the pilgrims from India, The Express Tribune reported.

Pilgrims returning to India will be routed through a designated gate.

The Federal Investigation Agency will send a clearance list of the pilgrims to the Indian border force 10 days before their arrival. They will have their passports scanned on arrival before they are taken to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in special buses under the protection of Pakistan Rangers, the report said.

Pilgrims from both Pakistan and India will undergo biometric screening before being permitted to enter Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. They will be able to exit from the same gate which they used for entry while undergoing the verification, it said.