Lahore: The federal government has announced its decision to allow access to 5,000 Sikh pilgrims from India to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through the Kartarpur Corridor on a daily basis, a news source reported. As per officials, the corridor is scheduled for opening in November 2019.
The officials concerned announced the development after the third round of talks between Pakistan and India over the draft agreement pertaining to the corridor opening took place this week at Attari.
Foreign Office spokesperson & Director General (DG) for South Asia Dr Muhammad Faisal led the Pakistani delegation. Following the meeting, he said that the talks were productive, and the two side had agreed to open the corridor in November. He added that Islamabad had invited the Indian officials for a final round of talks to resolve the remaining issues.
Dr Faisal also revealed that the government was willing to welcome additional pilgrims; since Sikh pilgrims from other countries were also expected to visit the sacred site – something which could create accommodation issues.
However, he clarified that Pakistan would only accommodate over 5,000 pilgrims from India if the capacity was available. He explained that placing restrictions on the pilgrim count was necessary during the initial phase because of capacity limitations.
Moreover, Dr Faisal stated that the pilgrims would enter through a gate constructed at the corridor on the basis of cards, and not visas. They would leave the same day, he added. He revealed that Pakistan had proposed to hold the next meeting as soon as possible, preferably within the next week, for finalisation of the draft agreement.
