Islamabad,November 7: Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said that Indian Sikh pilgrims would require a passport to use Kartarpur Corridor, which will be inaugurated on Saturday.
This comes after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 1 had announced that his government waived off two key requirements for Sikh pilgrims travelling for pilgrimage to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur from India.
Imran Khan said that Indian Sikh pilgrims will no longer be required to bring their passport and only a valid ID will be needed for entering Pakistan for Kartarpur pilgrimage.
Second, the visiting Sikhs will no longer need to register ten days in advance, Imran Khan said in a tweet.
He also said that no fee will be charged from pilgrims on the opening of Kartarpur Corridor on November 9 and on Guru Nanak Dev’s 550th birth anniversary on November 12.
“For Sikhs coming for pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off 2 requirements: i) they won’t need a passport – just a valid ID; ii) they no longer have to register 10 days in advance. Also, no fee will be charged on day of inauguration & on Guruji’s 550th birthday,” Imran Khan tweeted.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will open the Kartarpur Corridor ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on November 12.
India and Pakistan last week signed the agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor that will allow Indian pilgrims to undertake visa-free visit to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the shrine of the Sikh religion’s founder Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan, notwithstanding a chill in bilateral ties over Kashmir.
The agreement will allow 5,000 Indian pilgrims daily to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib where Guru Nanak spent last 18 years of his life.
The corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just 4 kilometres from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.
