Pakistan conveys schedule for 2nd meeting on Kartarpur Corridor to India

Modalities of the visa-free corridor will be finalised in the meeting at Wagah border on July 14

Pakistan has conveyed to India that the second meeting to discuss the draft agreement for finalising the modalities of Kartarpur Corridor and related technical issues will be held on July 14 at Wagah crossing.

New Delhi was also requested to convey the composition of its delegation for the same, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Tuesday.

“Pakistan remains committed to expedite progress on the matter to ensure that the corridor is operationalised in time for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak in November 2019,” it added.

Earlier on Sunday, New Delhi suggested July 11-14 as tentative dates for talks on the Pakistani side of Wagah border, wherein officials shall elaborate on a draft agreement to facilitate the movement of Sikh pilgrims and resolve outstanding technical issues related to the corridor’s alignment and infrastructure.

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The Kartarpur crossing will link Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.

The development comes after Indian authorities postponed the second meeting over the inclusion of pro-Khalistan activists in a Pakistani committee to facilitate Sikh pilgrims.

Earlier, the two countries held technical level talks at the site on April 16. A senior official said there was no delay on Pakistan’s part.

The corridor, once operational, will provide visa-free access to Sikhs from India to their holiest Shrine located inside Pakistan. This will also be the first visa-free corridor between the two nuclear-armed neighbours since their independence in 1947.

The proposal has been in the works for over two decades. However, it only began to take shape when in August when the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Pakistan was planning to open the corridor.

PM Imran performed the groundbreaking ceremony to build a four-km-long corridor at Kartarpur. The ceremony was attended by the premier’s friend and former Indian cricketer Navjaot Singh Sidhu.

Since then, the construction work has been underway with some pace as authorities are working overnight to meet the deadline.

Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, considered the holiest place in Sikh religion because it is the last resting place of Baba Guru Nanak, is located in Narowal, only four kilometres away from the Indian border.

The Shrine is visible from the Indian side of the border and every day a larger number of Sikh devotees gather to perform Darshan or sacred viewings of the site.

The two sides continued talks on the corridor despite their February 27 military standoff. India, which otherwise refused to engage with Pakistan, is finding it hard to run away from the Kartarpur initiative given the religious sentiments of Indian Sikhs attached to the corridor.

Some are concerned that given the hostility between the two countries, the opening of the corridor may face a delay.

However, Islamabad is hopeful that the corridor will become functional on the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak in November this year.