Kartarpur Corridor inauguration today

ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan has fulfilled a long-awaited demand of the Sikh community and Prime Minister Imran Khan is going to inaugurate today (Nov 9) the extended Gurdwara Darbar Sahib and the Kartarpur Corridor.

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, situated in Kartarpur, is the second holiest place for the Sikh community. This is 120 kms away from Lahore and situated in a small village of Kotheypind at the bank of River Ravi — at a distance of only 4 kms from Pakistan-India border.

This village is included in Shakargarh tehsil of Narowal district and the beautiful white Gurdwara looks elegantly placed between the grasslands. It hasbeen said in the agreement reached between Pakistan and India that daily five thousand Sikh Yatrees (pilgrims) will be allowed to visit the Gurdwara through the corridor.

To facilitate the Sikh Yatrees, the government has installed 130 counters, where their passports will be confirmed or scanned, and permit will be verified. Pilgrims will be charged $20 each under service charges. However, they will be exempted from paying the charges on the day of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.

After their immigration process is completed, the pilgrims will reach the Gurdwara by bus through the 4-km-long Corridor. From India, Congress leader Navjot Sidhu will arrive for the ceremony as the Government of Pakistan granted him a visa on Thursday.

Under the same sky but from a land divided by several meter high razor-wired double fence, Indian Sikhs for the past 70 years have been viewing from 4.5 kilometers Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, that lies in Pakistan.

Hundreds of Sikhs everyday make a beeline near the international border in Indian Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to catch a distant glimpse of one of their holiest shrines situated in Pakistan's Narowal district. However, now their wait is over.

For some it will be a lifelong cherished dream, about to materialise, as they set foot in their holiest site. On November 9 (Saturday), the first batch of 10,000 pilgrims is set to perform their rituals within the compound of the Gurdwara after seven decades on the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.