Free visa only to holders of Canada, US, UK passports: Pakistan Sikh body

After reports of free visa to Pakistan surfaced, the Sikh body in the neighbouring state clarified that it would be applicable only to the citizens of UK, US and Canada or those of Indian origin but settled in these countries.

In a video message, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Ramesh Singh Arora stated, “For Indian Sikh pilgrims, the conditions for entry to Pakistan for visit to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur at Narowal in Punjab province would be the same as per agreement between the two countries. The charging of US dollars 20 and passport as identification document for Indian pilgrims would prevail as it is.”

He said the online visa-free entry would be applicable only for the UK, US or Canada passport holders. “Only they will get an online visa free of cost within 30 minutes,” he said.

The agreement, signed on October 24, 2019, between India and Pakistan, to facilitate the visit of Indian nationals to Gurdwara Kartarpur was valid for five years. On October 24 this year, it was agreed through diplomatic channels of the neighbouring countries to extend the validity of the agreement for a period of five years.