Govt deploys officials at Kartarpur Corridor

Pakistan to issue identification cards to visiting pilgrims

LAHORE: Prior to the inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor, the authorities have started deploying gcustoms officers and other workers from different organisations to facilitate Sikh pilgrims.

In the first phase, deployment notification for 15 customs officers and other team members has been issued. The officers will be responsible for customs clearance of the Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world visiting Kartarpur to perform rituals.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate Kartarpur Corridor on November 9 on the occasion of Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. Former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has also been invited to the inaugural ceremony by the foreign ministry.

FIA seeks funds for Kartarpur Corridor

Sikh pilgrims from all over the world will attend the ceremony.

The collectorate of customs has issued the notification for the deployment of their 15 customs officials. Stationed customs inspectors and workers included Sidra Tayyab, Azmatullah Khan, Farhan Aziz Tarar and Mohammad Sharif Watto while the other workers Hawaldar and customs soldiers are Zulfiqar Ali Awan, Ata Mohammad, Mohammad Ashraf, Mohammad Hayat, Haji Basheer, Saeed Rasool, Riyaz Ahmed, Mohammad Ameen, Saifullah, Liaqat Ali and Fayyaz Ahmed.

The sources said the appointees would perform customs duties for Sikh pilgrims during their arrival and departure in Kartarpur.

Kartarpur corridor connects Pakistan’s Narowal city to India’s Gurdaspur district. Kartarpur Sahib Temple is one of the most revered temples for the Sikh community where Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life.

90% work completed on Kartarpur Corridor

The distance between the temple and Gurdaspur is merely three kilometres but the closure of this crossing forces Sikh pilgrims from India to travel hundreds of kilometres, via Amritsar and Lahore, to reach here.

An identification card would be issued by Pakistan to the visiting pilgrims.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2019.