kartarpur corridor project

Pak is committed to complete the kartarpur corridor project for Sikh pilgrims ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak despite the tensions in relations with India, an aide to Pakistan PM Imran Khan said. The Kartarpur corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.

The external affairs ministry Thursday said India is fully committed to the Kartarpur Sahib corridor project and wants the work to be completed expeditiously. The assertion came after a section of media reported that India is lagging behind in the construction of the Kartarpur corridor.

Pakistan will start a month-long visa process starting September 1 for the Sikh pilgrims from India and other countries who plans to attend the 550 birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak in November. "Pakistan will complete the kartarpur corridor project by November regardless of India's willingness to work on it or not," the Punjab Governor said.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will lay the foundation stone for the construction of Dera Baba Nanak-Kartarpur Sahib road corridor up to the international border with Pakistan in Mann village in Gurdaspur on November 26.

From Nov 9, Pak will allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy Kartarpur Sahib, said a senior official. Project director Atif Majid said so far 86% of the work on the corridor has been completed and will be opened to pilgrims on Nov 9. The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

The sources said a state-of-the-art passenger terminal building is being constructed by the Land Ports Authority of India and the work was awarded to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group on May 29.

The dismantling of Darshan Sthal at Dera Baba Nanak started on Tuesday, to facilitate the construction of Kartarpur corridor as the Pakistan government plans to set up an immigration centre on its side of the corridor.

Pakistan on Thursday said no date has been fixed so far for the inauguration of the Kartarpur corridor, even as it assured that it will be open "on time" on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev next month. The statement came nearly a month after a senior official announced that Pakistan will allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Sahib from Nov 9.

Showing his concern and priority towards completion of kartarpur corridor project , the newly elected Member Parliament (MP) from Gurdaspur Sunny Deol on Saturday reviewed the ongoing construction work of corridor at Dera Baba Nanak during his maiden visit to his constituency after being elected as MP on May 23.

PM Modi, in a letter written in response to a congratulatory message by his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, has called for "early operationalisation of the Kartarpur corridor which is functional all the year round", according the ministry of external affairs. The letter by Modi was sent to Khan on June 12, the MEA said.

With the Cabinet approving the development of a corridor to enable smooth passage of pilgrims seeking to visit Guru Nanak’s final resting place at Kartarpur, India “approached and urged” Islamabad to develop the passage on its side too. The corridor will begin from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur, India, to the international border with Pak to allow unrestricted flow of pilgrims.

On March 19, Pakistan and India had held a technical meeting at the designated zero point to discuss the plan for the corridor project. During the meeting, technical experts had indicated areas related to the corridor

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's government on Tuesday earmarked Rs 100 crore in the federal budget 2019-20 for the development of the much-awaited Kartarpur corridor. The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims.

The Pakistan government on Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of the opening of the Kartarpur corridor by inviting Sikh diaspora to invest in the development of the second phase of the corridor complex area.