Sidhu thanks Pak for allowing access to Kartarpur shrine

CHANDIGARH: Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Friday that Pakistan has decided to allow Sikh pilgrims direct access to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, situated nearly 3km from the border in Gurdaspur.

“A decision to open the Kartarpur corridor has been taken by Pakistan PM Imran Khan after consultations with various stakeholders,” Sidhu told the media here on Friday.

The gurdwara, located 120 km from Lahore, is built on the banks of the Ravi river at the site where Guru Nanak died in 1539.

Pakistan information minister Fawad Chaudhry has confirmed the development, stating that the country will soon allow Sikh pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib without visas.

Chaudhry, in an interview to BBC Urdu, said a mechanism had been created to help pilgrims cross the border and will soon see “practical progress”.

Sidhu, meanwhile, also claimed that Pakistan was awaiting a positive reply from India on dates for the talks. “I thank my friend Imran Khan for this noble goodwill gesture... I am indebted forever,” he said.

“Pakistan has sent a message of friendship,” he added.

“India should see this as a goodwill gesture. The desperation for a dialogue is visible from the Pakistan side,” he said.

The announcement comes a day after a PTI report claimed that Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa raked up the Kashmir issue on the occasion of the country’s Defence and Martyrs’ Day, saying that Pakistan supported the people in Jammu and Kashmir in their “struggle for the right to self-determination”.