Pakistan, India sign Kartarpur corridor pact amid Kashmir tension

In this file photo, Sikh Pilgrims eat food in front of Kartarpur Gurdwara Sahib after a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kartarpur Corridor in Kartarpur on Nov. 28, 2018. (AFP)

• The visa-free corridor will facilitate Indian Sikh pilgrims to reach a holy Sikh temple in Pakistan
• The two countries have tense diplomatic relations with bilateral trade and travel severed after New Delhi's Kashmir move

KARTARUR/LAHORE: Pakistan and India formally signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday for Kartarpur corridor providing visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims into Pakistan.
The Indian side was represented by a joint secretary of New Delhi’s Ministry of Home Affairs, S.C.L. Das, while the Pakistani delegation was led by the director general of SAARC, Dr. Muhammad Faisal.
The Kartarpur corridor is designed to connect the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in India’s Punjab region to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, -- a small town located 125 km northwest of Pakistani city of Lahore.
According to an official statement issued by Pakistan Foreign Office, “The agreement will facilitate visa free travel of 5,000 pilgrims daily (to be enhanced on special occasions, subject to capacity), in groups or individually, on foot or by bus to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal, Pakistan, from dawn to dusk throughout the year, except on public holidays or for exigencies / emergencies, which will be notified to India in advance. Pilgrims will travel on valid Indian passport. Non-resident Indians will also be required to carry their Indian origin card. Pakistan will charge USD 20/pilgrim/visit as service charges.”
 “Government of India will share pilgrim lists, ten days in advance. Pakistan will share the final list of pilgrims, 4 days in advance. Advance exchange of pilgrim list will facilitate pilgrims allowing them to make plans in advance and providing sufficient time to both governments for processing,” read the statement issued Thursday.
Despite all these facilities, Sikh pilgrims coming to Pakistan will not be allowed to cross the corridor to travel inside the country.
Pakistan’s official statement described the signing of the agreement, “despite the challenging environment between the two countries" as “unprecedented.”
It may be recalled that India’s vice president, Venkaiah Naidu, laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor on November 26, 2018, at Mann, a village in Gurdaspur district of Indian Punjab.
Two days later, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the construction work at the corridor with the intention of opening it to Sikh pilgrims on the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism.
The visa-free border crossing will be inaugurated on November 9, days ahead of one of Sikhism’s most sacred festivals to mark Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the Indian side of the corridor, but it is unclear if he will cross over into Pakistan or not.
The two countries currently have tense diplomatic relations with bilateral trade and travel cut off after India abolished the special constitutional status of the disputed Kashmir valley under its administrative control.
Pakistan reacted by expelling the Indian ambassador and imposing trade embargo. The two south Asian nuclear neighbors both claim Kashmir in full but control it in part, having fought two full-scale wars over it.