On October 24, 2019 India and Pakistan have signed an agreement to operationalize the Kartarpur corridor (under construction border corridor between India and Pakistan). As per the agreement, Indian pilgrims, will now be able to visit Darbar Sahib established by Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev in 1522 in Pakistan.
Kartarpur corridor: The corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, which is 4kms from the international border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province. The corridor will be formally inaugurated by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 9, 2019, ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev (founder of Sikhism) on November 12, 2019.
Key points:
i.Agreement signing: The signing of the agreement was done at the Kartarpur Zero Point at the International Border by India’s S.C.L. Das, Joint Secretary in the home ministry and by Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal.
ii.Pilgrim registration: Online portal “prakashpurb550.mha.gov.in” was launched on October 24, 2019, for online registration of Pilgrims visiting the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara. The portal works on a first come first serve basis and will generate an electronic travel authorisation.
iii. Visa-free facility: As per the agreement, 5,000 pilgrims will be allowed to visit the holy site every day without a visa. However, they are entitled to pay $20 as a fee to the Pakistan govt. Through this, the Pakistan govt would earn revenue of $365,00,000 from pilgrims per annum.
iv.Highway construction: The National Highways Authority of India(NHAI) constructs 4 lane highway connecting the Kartarpur Zero Point with the National Highway-354 on the Indian side.
v.In November 2018, the president of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor on the Indian side.
About Pakistan:
- Capital- Islamabad.
- Currency- Pakistani rupee.
- President- Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi.