Pakistan, India hold technical talks on Kartarpur Corridor

GURDASPUR: Officials from Pakistan and India on Friday discussed the technical modalities of the Kartarpur corridor for the Sikh pilgrims, the first meeting after New Delhi revoked held Jammu and Kashmir’s special status leading to fresh tensions between the two countries.

The meeting being held at the Zero point, where the Indian and Pakistani side of the proposed corridor converge, was attended by 15 officials from each side, officials said.

The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s town of Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s city of Gurdaspur and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will, then, only have to obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, while addressing media on Thursday, said Pakistan is committed to completing and inaugurating the proposed Kartarpur Sahib corridor as announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan in November last year.

Pakistan and India are discussing the modalities regarding the opening of the corridor at Narowal, some 125-km from Lahore, on the occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak in November.

Over the past few months, many rounds of meetings have been held on the corridor during which the experts from the two sides have discussed its alignment, coordinates and other engineering aspects of the proposed crossing points.

In July, delegations of the two countries held a meeting on the Pakistani side of the Attari-Wagah border to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor.

The corridor will also be the first visa-free corridor between the two neighbors since partition in 1947.

Pakistan is building the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak up to the border will be constructed by India.

On November 26 last year, Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak – Kartarpur Sahib Corridor (up to the International Border) at an event at Mann village of Gurdaspur district.