India assessing Pak offer on Kartarpur
New Delhi to consult health experts, stakeholders
NEWDELHI/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday announced its readiness to reopen the Kartarpur corridor to Indian pilgrims on June 29, but India will decide on the matter only after consulting health authorities and other stakeholders, people familiar with the development said.
The corridor that allows Indian pilgrims visa-free access to Durbar Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan’s Narowal district, where Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life, was closed on March 16 because of the Covid-19.
Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted on Saturday that Islamabad had conveyed to New Delhi that it was ready to reopen the corridor on June 29, the death anniversary of Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh, as places of worship across the world were opening up. A statement from the Foreign Office is Islamabad, which described the corridor as “a true symbol of peace and religious harmony”, too said Pakistan had informed the Indian side of its readiness to open the corridor on June 29.
The people cited above, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said cross-border travel continues to be temporarily suspended as part of measures to prevent and contain the spread of the coronavirus disease, and the Indian side will decide on the matter in consultation with health authorities and other stakeholders.
However, one of the people noted that Pakistan was trying to “create a mirage of goodwill by proposing to reopen the Kartarpur corridor on June 29, at a short notice of just two days”.
The bilateral agreement on the corridor states India has to share information about pilgrims with the Pakistani side at least seven days before the date of travel, the person pointed out. “This would need India to open up the registration process well in advance,” the person added.
The people also pointed out that Pakistan has still not built a bridge on its side across the flood plains of the Ravi river despite having committed to do this in the bilateral agreement.
With the advent of the monsoon, the Indian side will need to evaluate whether the movement of pilgrims is possible through the corridor in a safe and secure manner, the people added.
The corridor, which links Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Gurdaspur to Durbar Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan, was opened on November 9 last year. The Pakistani statement said necessary health precautions are being taken and the Pakistani side had invited India to work out standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the reopening.