Indian pilgrims travelling to Pakistan to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara will need to carry passports, the Government on Thursday informed.

The announcement comes after reports in the Pakistani media on Thursday, quoting a spokesperson of the Pakistani army’s media wing, that Indian pilgrims will be allowed entry under a “permit on a passport-based identity”.

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Speaking on the development, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar said that reports coming in from Pakistan are “conflicting”.

“Reports coming in from Pakistan are conflicting. Some times they say passport is needed and on other times that it isn’t. We think there are differences between their Foreign Office and other agencies. We have an MoU, it hasn’t been changed and as per it passport is needed,” Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

“We are aware that there is a bilateral document which has been signed between India and Pakistan which clearly specifies the document to be carried by the pilgrims,” he added.

Any amendment to the existing MoU cannot be done unilaterally, it requires the consent of both the parties, he said.

Indian Sikh pilgrims would require a passport to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan’s Punjab province via the Kartarpur Corridor which will be inaugurated on Saturday ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, ISPR chief Major General Asif Ghafoor was quoted as saying by Pakistani media.

On November 1, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced that Sikh pilgrims from India would not need a passport to travel to Kartarpur and no fee would be charged on the opening day of the corridor on November 9.

In a tweet, Khan said: “For Sikhs coming for pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off two requirements: i) they won’t need a passport-just a valid ID; ii)they no longer have to register 10 days in advance. Also, no fee to be charged on day of inauguration and on Guruji’s 550th birthday (sic).”

For Sikhs coming for pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off 2 requirements: i) they wont need a passport – just a valid ID; ii) they no longer have to register 10 days in advance. Also, no fee will be charged on day of inauguration & on Guruji’s 550th birthday

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 1, 2019

On October 24, India and Pakistan signed a landmark agreement to operationalise the Kartarpur corridor to allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.

The agreement signing ceremony took place at the Kartarpur Zero Point at the International Border, removing a key legal hurdle for the opening of the corridor.

After the signing of the agreement, it was decided that Indian pilgrims of all faith and persons of Indian-origin can use the Kartarpur Corridor. The travel will be visa-free. The pilgrims need to carry only a valid passport, while persons of Indian-origin need to carry Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card along with the passport of their country.

The MEA spokesperson further said that India has been sensitising Pakistan on security and protocol arrangements.

“I think it’s natural for an advanced team to visit a country before a high dignitary visit takes place. We have not heard anything from Pakistan so far. We have requested them for security and medical arrangements for the dignitaries,” he said.

India had been requesting Pakistan to allow an advance team to visit the corridor to understand the requirements that visitors from India would have, including from the security point of view.

Earlier, there were reports on Wednesday that Pakistan has allowed officials from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to visit the Kartarpur corridor and assess the security requirements in view of the likely arrival of VIP pilgrims from India, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for the November 9 inauguration.

On Khalistani separatist Jarnail Bhindranwale featuring in Pakistan government’s official video on Kartarpur corridor, the MEA said that it condemns Islamabad’s attempt to undermine the spirit under which the pilgrimage is supposed to be undertaken.

India has also lodged a strong protest over the issue.

Raveesh Kumar said that India has been assured repeatedly by the Pakistani side during discussions that they will not allow any anti-India elements and propaganda during the pilgrimage and the event. “We demand that they remove the objectionable video and the printed material which is being circulated,” he added.

The video song was released by Pakistan’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on November 4.

The song also features Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu apart from photographs of Khalistani separatist leaders Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Maj Gen Shabeg Singh and Amrik Singh Khalsa.

Speaking on Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu’s repeated requests to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, the MEA said, “The inauguration of Kartarpur corridor is a historic event. It is not important to highlight any one individual”.

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

After the inauguration of much-awaited Kartarpur corridor on November 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public gathering at the Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur.