New Delhi: India and Pakistan have reached a diplomatic consensus to extend the validity of the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor agreement for an additional five years, announced on Tuesday. Originally signed on October 24, 2019, this agreement was designed to facilitate Indian pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Narowal, Pakistan, and was initially set to remain in effect for five years.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in its briefing said, “It has been agreed between India and Pakistan through diplomatic channels to extend the validity of the Agreement on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for a further period of five years.”
According to the MEA briefing, the extension of the agreement’s validity will allow for the uninterrupted operation of the corridor, enabling Indian pilgrims to visit the sacred Gurdwara in Pakistan. The ministry has also requested that Pakistan refrain from imposing any fees or charges on pilgrims, as there is currently a USD 20 service charge per pilgrim per visit.
India and Pakistan have renewed the agreement on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for the next five years.
PM @narendramodi’s government will continue to facilitate our Sikh community’s access to their holy sites.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 22, 2024
India-Pakistan agree on 5-year extension
The announcement follows External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent visit to Islamabad, marking the first such visit in nine years, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting. India and Pakistan established a significant agreement in 2019 to operationalise the corridor, which allows for visa-free travel for Indian pilgrims and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders to Gurdwara Shri Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan on a daily basis, year-round.
Kartarpur’s historical significance as a Sikh pilgrimage site
Kartarpur is situated on the west bank of the Ravi River, where Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, spent the last 18 years of his life. Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak, located about 1 km from the Indo-Pakistan border on the east bank of the river, is noted by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.
On the Pakistani side, the town of Kartarpur is home to Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib, which is located in the Narowal district and approximately 4.5 km from the international border near the historic Dera Baba Nanak town in Gurdaspur, Punjab.
The Indian section of the Dera Baba Nanak-Sri Kartarpur Sahib corridor includes a 4.1-kilometer-long, four-lane highway connecting Dera Baba Nanak to the international border, along with a state-of-the-art passenger terminal building (PTB) at the border. Since its inauguration in November 2019, nearly 250,000 pilgrims have utilized the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor to visit Gurudwara Sri Darbar Sahib Kartarpur.
