1.1 lakh Indians, OCI card holders visited Darbar Sahib Gurudwara using Kartarpur corridor: Govt

Over 1,10,670 Indians and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cardholders visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan using the cross-border Kartarpur corridor, the government said on Friday.

The corridor linking Dera Baba Sahib in India’s Gurdaspur with the gurdwara in Pakistan’s Kartarpur was thrown open in November 2019 in a historic people-to-people initiative.

”Since its inauguration on November 9, 2019, the Kartarpur corridor has been used by more than 1,10,670 Indians and OCI card holders to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur,” Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said in Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question. Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is located in Pakistan’s Narowal district across the river Ravi, about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

It is the final resting place of the Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak Dev, who had spent the last 18 years of his life in Kartarpur.

Muraleedharan said representations have been received to make the visit to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib using the corridor passport-free. However, he added that the bilateral agreement signed between India and Pakistan in October 2019 mandates that pilgrims shall travel on valid passports.

The minister said India has consistently urged Pakistan that in deference to the wishes of the pilgrims, it should not levy any fee or charge on those who visit the Gurudwara through the corridor. ”Pakistan, however, continues to levy USD 20 per head for each visit,” he said.

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