India and Pakistan on Thursday signed an agreement to operationalize the historic Kartarpur corridor without being affected by the ongoing tension in bilateral relations. With this, Sikh devotees of India will now be able to go to the holy Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. The corridor will connect the signature of the signature of the Dera Baba Nanak Gurudvajiro Point in Punjab, India, to the Darbar Sahib at Kartapur, located just four kilometers from the international border in Narowal district of Punjab province in Pakistan.
Signed at Zero Point-
The program to sign the agreement was organized at Kartarpur Zero Point on the Indo-Pakistan border in Narowal. With this agreement, the main legal hurdles faced in commissioning the corridor have been removed. The Sikh community had long been demanding to open the corridor. SCL Das, Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry from India, while Mohammad Faisal, spokesperson of the Pakistan Foreign Office, signed the agreement on behalf of Pakistan.
After signing the agreement, Faisal told the media that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has fulfilled his promise and completed the corridor within a year. Faisal said, "It was never easy to reach agreement on Kartarpur corridor. It was a very difficult conversation (with India) of course due to our ill-conceived relationship with India.
The list of devotees will be shared 10 days before-
He said that Pakistan has remained at the points it had proposed at the beginning of talks on the corridor. Faisal said, "Under the agreement, the corridor will be open from sunrise to sunset seven days a week. Every day a total of five thousand Indians will reach Sikhs and return on the same day. He said, 'They (pilgrims) have to bring their passport only for their identity and it will not be stamped. The list of pilgrims coming to Gurdwara (Darbar Sahib Kartarpur) will be shared by India 10 days before their itinerary. '
Online registration of the devotees started soon after the signing of the agreement. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, spent the last 18 years of his life at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. Each devotee will have to pay a $ 20 fee. India had urged Pakistan not to charge the Indian pilgrims. Faisal said that this amount is minor compared to the extensive expenditure. This gurudwara is the largest gurdwara in the world. He said, 'Come and see this is a wonderful thing.'
No permission to visit other gurudwara-
The spokesperson clarified that Indian Sikhs coming to Pakistan through this corridor will not be allowed to go to other gurdwaras in Punjab province. He said that travelers will have to get a visa to see other gurdwaras or other places in the country. When asked about the possibility of terrorism due to the arrival of many people every day, Faisal said that strict security arrangements have been made in and around the gurdwara. He said, 'Indian media is very angry with us.' The agreement could be finalized after three rounds of negotiations.
Formal opening on 9 November-
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will formally inaugurate the corridor on November 9, before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. The foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor coming into Indian territory was laid by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in Gurdaspur district of Punjab in November last year. Two days later, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the corridor at Narowal. The agreement to operationalize the corridor has been signed at a time when tensions between the two countries have continued since India's August 5 decision to repeal most of the provisions of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and divide the state into two union territories.
