Kartarpur Corridor: A spiritual journey made easy

• The corridor construction will be carried out under a framework developed in 1999
• Sikh pilgrims have deeply praised Pakistani authorities for their decision to build the border crossing

ISLAMABAD: Some 20 million Sikhs residing in India waited for more 70 years for consensus on Kartarpur border crossing, hoping that the administrations in New Delhi and Islamabad would ultimately make it possible for them to perform their pilgrimage to the last resting place of Sikhism’s founder, Guru Nanak, without any visa restrictions.
That moment arrived for them on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the passage in a historic ceremony. Former cricket star and currently a provincial minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu was widely seen as an unofficial ambassador of peace between the two nuclear-armed nations and, with his longstanding relation with cricket legend and friend Imran Khan, there was much optimism in the air regarding people-to-people contact between the two rival nations and the dynamics of their bilateral relationship to change in the coming weeks and months.
“Whenever history of Kartarpur will be written, your name will be inscribed on its opening page,” said the jubilant Indian star while pointing to Khan as he delivered his colorful speech at the ceremony.
Khan reciprocated by lauding Sidhu’s peace efforts and renewed his call to India to hold Islamabad’s hand of friendship. He noted that both countries had stockpiles of mass destruction weapons and war was not a rational option for them.
The corridor, once complete, will allow Sikhs to travel to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib on special permits. The construction plan includes a border terminal, medical facilities, bridge on river Ravi, amenities block, a dual carriage road, hotel accommodation for pilgrims, and remodeling of the Gurdwara (shrine) complex, all of which will be done under a framework agreed in 1999 that had since been gathering dust.
Wednesday’s ceremony was also attended by hundreds of emotional and enthusiastic Sikh pilgrims from India, many of whom were undertaking this journey to Pakistan for the first time. The Pakistani authorities hope to finish the construction work on the corridor before Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary in 2019, hoping to make the spiritual journey for Sikh pilgrims more convenient in the years to come.