The Kartarpur Corridor, connecting the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district, is set to reopen for pilgrims on Tuesday as the flood-situation eased near the India-Pakistan border.
The reopening of Kartarpur will assist thousands of devotees, largely Sikhs, to visit the final resting place of Guru Nanak in Pakistan.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Amarinder Singh said his government would be happy to work in conjunction with the Centre to ensure adherence to proper Covid-19 protocols, including testing and vaccination of pilgrims using the corridor.
The Corridor was temporarily closed by the Indian government on March 16 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
India and Pakistan in October 2019 signed an agreement to operationalise the Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian pilgrims a visa-free visit to the holy gurdwara, believed to have been built on the site where Guru Nanak died in the 16th century, and located some 4 km inside Pakistan.
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh on Tuesday made it clear that regardless of security concerns, the Kartarpur Corridor will remain open for ‘Khulle Darshan Deedar’ (free access) of Gurdwara (Sikh shrine) Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.
The UN chief also visited the community kitchen (langar) at the gurdwara, where he was served a traditional meal of rice and lentils.
The Secretary-General will be in Lahore on February 18, where he will meet students and attend an event on Pakistan's polio vaccination campaign.
The Kartarpur corridor corridor connects 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.
The opening of the Khokhrapar border would facilitate millions of followers of Saint Moinuddin Chishti to visit Dargah Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan. It will also allow Hindu pilgrims to visit the Hinglaj Mandir in Balochistan.
