Passport, Permit, Prior info: Pakistan sets 'conditions' on entry of pilgrims via Kartarpur corridor

Pakistan has set new conditions on the entry of Sikh pilgrims to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan via Kartarpur corridor. According to local media reports, the Pakistani government has sent a proposal on Kartarpur corridor to India. As per the proposal, the entry of the pilgrims via Kartarpur corridor would be permit based and passport would be compulsory. Earlier, there were reports that Sikh pilgrims would be allowed free one day access to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib – the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev. Besides this, Pakistan has also limited per day entry permission to only 500 pilgrims. The Indian government will have to provide the list of visiting pilgrims three days prior to their visit.

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Earlier in September, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor that will connect Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

Dubbed as a ground-breaking initiative towards ending the enmity between the hostile neighbours India and Pakistan, the Imran Khan government’s gesture to open the corridor was praised by many in India. The corridor is expected to be completed by June 2019.

The 4-km corridor will facilitate the visit of Sikh pilgrims to the historic shrine of Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib – believed to be the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev. The Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara is visible from the Indian side and every year, thousands of Sikhs gather at Dera Baba Nanak shrine for darshan.

The ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor was attended by Pakistani PM Imran Khan, Pak Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and from the Indian side, Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hardeep Singh Puri and Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.