NEW DELHI/LAHORE – India on Thursday announced the construction of the Kartarpur corridor to facilitate Sikh pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi river in Punjab, Pakistan.
The historic gurudwara where Guru Nanak is believed to have spent the last 18 years of his life, has been cleared by the cabinet, reports NDTV on Thursday.
For this, India has also approached Islamabad to build a corridor in Pakistan to the gurudwara “with suitable facilities in their territory”, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Meanwhile, over 3,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims reached Lahore on Wednesday and left for Gurudwara Janamesthan in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, for the birth anniversary festivities.
“Visa arrangements will be made. The corridor will be 3 to 4 kilometers,” Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
In September, Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu triggered a controversy claiming that, during his visit to the neighbouring country, he hugged the Pakistan army chief when he said Pakistan was ready to open the Kartarpur corridor.
On the other hand, Fawad Chaudhry, Information Minister, Pakistan, hailed the development, calling it “a victory of peace lobby in both countries” and “a step towards the right direction.”
Indian Cabinet endorsement of Pakistan’s proposition on #KartarPurBorderOpening is victory of peace lobby in both countries, its a step towards right direction and we hope such steps ll encourage voice of reasons and tranquility on both sides of the border.
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 22, 2018
“Indian Cabinet endorsement of Pakistan’s proposition on #KartarPurBorderOpening is a victory of peace lobby in both countries, its a step towards the right direction and we hope such steps will encourage voice of reasons and tranquillity on both sides of the border,” Chaudhry tweeted.
Prime Minister Imran Khan will perform a groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor on November 28, 2018, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi informed via a Twitter post.
Pakistan has already conveyed to India it’s decision to open Kartarpura Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. PM Imran Khan will do break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28th November. We welcome the Sikh community to Pakistan for this auspicious occasion.
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) November 22, 2018
“Pakistan has already conveyed to India it’s decision to open Kartarpura Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. PM Imran Khan will do break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28th November. We welcome the Sikh community to Pakistan for this auspicious occasion.”
More than 3,000 Sikh pilgrims arrived in Lahore from India via special trains on Wednesday to celebrate the 549th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji from November 21-30.
The main ceremony will be held on November 23 at Nankana Sahib, which will be followed by a visit to Hasanabdal on the 24th, Lahore on 26th then Rohri on the 28th. The pilgrims will return to India on November 30.
