India, Pakistan extend Sri Kartarpur Sahib Agreement validity for 5 years
Close on the heels of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s Islamabad visit for the SCO Summit, a first by an Indian Foreign Minister in nine years, India and Pakistan on Tuesday agreed to extend the validity of Sri Kartarpur Sahib Agreement for a further period of five years.
The Ministry of External Affairs 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.
The Agreement, signed on October 24, 2019, to facilitate the visit of pilgrims from India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, was valid for a period of five years.
”Extension of the validity of this Agreement will ensure uninterrupted operation of the Corridor for use by the pilgrims from India to visit the holy gurdwara in Pakistan. In view of the continued requests of pilgrims regarding the removal of the USD 20 service charge levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per visit, India has once again urged Pakistan to not levy any fee or charges on the pilgrims,” an official statement said.
An Agreement between Government of India and Government of Pakistan for the facilitation of pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Pakistan, was signed on October 24, 2019, to fulfil the long-standing demand of the pilgrims to have easy and smooth access to the holy Gurudwara and to operationalise the Corridor for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
The Agreement provides for visa-free travel of Indian pilgrims, as well as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders, from India to Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan on a daily basis, throughout the year. To facilitate the visit of pilgrims, a state-of-the-art infrastructure, including a highway from the town of Dera Baba Nanak to Zero Point and an Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been built on the Indian side. Pakistan, however, continues to levy US $20 on every pilgrim for each visit.
