KARTARPUR: Pakistan and India on Thursday signed an agreement that will give Sikh pilgrims from India visa-free access to a holy shrine across the border.
The Kartarpur Corridor connects the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in India's Punjab region to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said that the agreement was "unprecedented" and described the environment between the two countries as "challenging."
It said the corridor would allow 5,000 pilgrims daily, in groups or individually, to visit the shrine.
Access would be granted from dawn to dusk throughout the year except on public holidays or emergencies which India would be given advance notice on.
"Pilgrims will travel on valid Indian passport. Nonresident Indians will also be required to carry their Indian origin card. Pakistan will charge $20 pilgrim/visit as service charges."
India would share pilgrim lists 10 days in advance and Pakistan would share the final list of pilgrims four days in advance, added the ministry.
India was represented at the deal-signing ceremony by an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs, S.C.L. Das, while the Pakistani delegation was led by Muhammad Faisal, who is the director general of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
India's Vice President Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur Corridor last November in the village of Mann.
Two days later, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the construction work at the corridor. The intention was to open it to Sikh pilgrims on the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism. The visa-free crossing will be inaugurated on Nov. 9, days ahead of one of Sikhism's most sacred festivals.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the Indian side of the corridor, but it is unclear if he will cross over into Pakistan.
The two countries currently have tense diplomatic relations after India abolished the special constitutional status of the disputed Kashmir region under its administrative control.
Pakistan reacted by expelling the Indian ambassador and imposing a trade embargo.
The two south Asian nuclear neighbors both claim Kashmir in full but control it in part, having fought two wars over it.
Source: Arab News
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