Pak adamant on $20 fee from each pilgrim using Kartarpur corridor

AMRITSAR

: Despite Indian objections, the Pakistan government is adamant on charging $20 service fee from each pilgrim using Kartarpur corridor for traveling to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib in

Narowal district

of Pakistan for paying obeisance.

Spokesperson of Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs Mohammad Faisal on Thrusday denied any change of plans with respect to service fee proposed by Pakistan for using Kartarpur corridor.

According to media reports, Faisal said “The proposed fee is not being charged for entering the premises of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib but to supplement the enormous expenditure which the government of Pakistan is undertaking to complete and maintain the Kartarpur Sahib corridor”.

Notably, after Pakistan proposed to levy fee of $20 per pilgrim using Kartapur corridor, the Indian delegation that held meeting with their Pakistani counterparts at

Attari

on September 4 had reminded them that when the project was initiated it was told that the pilgrimage would be visa free so there should have not been any entry or service fee and that it was repugnant to the spirit of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

While stating that service fee was being charged to provide various services to the pilgrims, Faisal reportedly said “I would assert that this fee will not even cover a fraction of the cost that our government is bearing in order to facilitate the pilgrims”.

However in India, barring Paramjit Singh Sarna-led SAD (Delhi) all other Sikh organizations had opposed charging of any service fee from pilgrims.

“Pakistan government should reconsider charging around Rs 1400 per pilgrim going to Pakistan to fulfill their religious aspirations” said Harnam Singh Khalsa, chief of Sikh’s prominent seminary Damdami Taksal. He opined that with the opening of corridor, the Pakistan’s tourism industry would also get a major fillip and add to its income.

Pakistan has in principle agreed to allow five thousand pilgrims a day which means an income of $100000 per day .

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