The Sikh community in Pakistan celebrated on Monday the first anniversary of the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
The visa-free border crossing from India to Kartarpur, Pakistan, was inaugurated last November just ahead of the 550th birthday of Sikhism's founder, Baba Guru Nanak. It connects the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib, in India's Punjab region, to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.
The project is a rare recent example of cooperation between the nuclear arch-rivals, who came close to war in February following an attack on police in Indian-occupied Kashmir. India revoked the special status of the held region in August last year, inflaming relations once again.
"Kartarpur Corridor, also known as the "Peace Corridor", is a true symbol of inter-faith harmony and religious unity," the FO said in a statement.
"The Sikh as well as the international community, including United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who while visiting Kartarpur described it as 'Corridor of Hope', has immensely appreciated this landmark initiative of Pakistan."
The Sikh community in India's Punjab and elsewhere has long sought easier access to the temple in Kartarpur, a village just over the border in Pakistan. It was here on the banks of the Ravi river that Baba Nanak laid the foundations of a new faith. He came to this town between 1520 and 1522 and spent the last 18 years of his life.
To get there, travellers currently must first secure hard-to-get visas, travel to Lahore or another major Pakistan city and then drive to the village, which is about 4 kilometres from the Indian border.
The corridor was temporarily closed in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"As the religious places started gradually opening up around the world, Pakistan also reopened the Corridor on 29 June 2020 with Covid-related necessary health safety protocols," the FO had said.
"India has yet to reopen the Corridor from its side and allow the Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur Saheb."
Source: Pakistan Today
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