Pakistan and India signed the agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor on Thursday, paving the way for its inauguration next month before the 550th anniversary of the birth of the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev.
Dr. Mohammad Faisal, Director General (South Asia and Saarc) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Interior of India, S.C.L. Das signed the agreement on the border between Pakistan and India in Narowal.
After the signing ceremony, Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Faisal said that according to the initiative of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the agreement was signed while the formal inauguration of the project will take place on November 9.
Read more: 5 gurdwaras that could be part of the Kartarpur Corridor
"[They] they were very, very difficult and difficult negotiations, "he said as he talked about the various rounds of dialogues between the two parties about the project.
"Under the agreement, the corridor will remain open seven days a week from sunrise to sunset," he said, adding that the pilgrims [through the corridor] He would arrive during the day and leave at night.
The FO spokesman said the project will provide 5,000 pilgrims per day.
"It is the largest gurdwara in the world. This is how we treat minorities in the country, this is our approach to minorities. It is in line with the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)," he said.
He said the first group of pilgrims will come on November 9. Sharing more details of the agreement, he said that pilgrims who pass through the corridor will not require a visa. They will have to carry their passports that will be scanned but not sealed, he said.
Dr. Faisal said that according to the agreement, the Indian authorities will provide a list of pilgrims 10 days before their visit.
While answering a question, he said that local Sikh pilgrims will also be allowed to visit the sacred place and be granted a pass.
"There are no changes in the country's position in Kashmir occupied by India," he said while answering another question.
The agreement was finalized after three rounds of negotiations. The negotiations were prolonged due to the profound differences in several provisions of the agreement, the confrontation of Pulwama, the Indian reservations about the composition of the committee established to deal with the affairs of the corridor and the elections in India.
The last point of conflict was the $ 20 service fee that Pakistan would charge each pilgrim for a single trip. However, India reluctantly agreed. Pakistan is currently working on the mechanism to collect the $ 20 fee from pilgrims.
After the opening of the corridor, a visa-free link will open between Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur and the Dera Baba Nanak sanctuary in India's Punjab for pilgrims.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1512664/pakistan-india-sign-agreement-on-kartarpur-corridor