Pakistan and India sign Kartarpur Corridor deal

Pakistan and India on Thursday signed an agreement that will give Sikh pilgrims from India visa-free access to a holy shrine across the border.

The Kartarpur Corridor connects the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in India’s Punjab region to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that the agreement was “unprecedented” and described the environment between the two countries as “challenging.”

It said the corridor would allow 5,000 pilgrims daily, in groups or individually, to visit the shrine. Access would be granted from dawn to dusk throughout the year except on public holidays or emergencies which India would be given advance notice on. “Pilgrims will travel on valid

Indian passport. Nonresident Indians will also be required to carry their Indian origin card. Pakistan will charge $20 pilgrim/ visit as service charges.”

India would share pilgrim lists 10 days in advance and Pakistan would share the final list of pilgrims four days in advance, added the ministry.

India was represented at the dealsigning ceremony by an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs, S.C.L. Das, while the Pakistani delegation was led by Muhammad Faisal, who is the director general of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

India’s Vice President Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur Corridor last November in the village of Mann. Two days later, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the construction work at the corridor.