Face of Nation : Officials from India and Pakistan on Friday discussed the technical modalities of the Kartarpur corridor for the Sikh pilgrims, the first meeting after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status leading to fresh tensions between the two countries.
The meeting lasted for close to two hours during which various technical aspects pertaining to the corridor were discussed, an official of the National Highways Authority of India, who attended the meeting, said. The area where the meeting took place was heavily guarded and no media personnel was allowed to go near the venue.
Officials of the Land Port Authority of India, which is constructing a state-of-the-art passenger terminal building, also attended the meeting. So far, there is no official word from the Pakistani side.
The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, addressing media on Thursday, said Pakistan is committed to completing and inaugurating the Kartarpur Sahib corridor as announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan in November.
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 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.
India is constructing a bridge at the zero point and has urged Pakistan to build a similar bridge on its side that will provide safe and secure movement of pilgrims and address concerns regarding flooding. The bridge is over a creek of which the majority part falls in Pakistan.
