NEW DELHI: Despite frosty relations, the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur on Thursday created an opportunity for peace as both India and Pakistan confirmed the opening of a corridor on either side of the border to let Sikh pilgrims visit the shrine. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi confirmed his country would open the Kartarpur Corridor on the occasion of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary next year.
Darbar Sahib is the first gurdwara built by Guru Nanak, who reportedly died in Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi river.
His remarks came hours after the Indian Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared a proposal to build a 4-km corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to the International Border, some 5 km from the Kartarpur gurdwara across the border. Although Guru Nanak’s 550th birthday is in November this year according to the Roman calendar, the Sikh community will celebrate the occasion according to the Nanak Shahi calendar in November 2019.
“Pakistan has conveyed to India its decision to open Kartarpur Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. PM Imran Khan will do break ground at Kartarpur facilities on 28th November,” Qureshi tweeted. Earlier, the MEA in a statement said, “We have approached and urged the Pakistan government to recognize the sentiments of Sikh community and build a corridor with suitable facilities in their territory to facilitate easy and smooth visits of pilgrims from India to Kartarpur Sahib throughout the year. The government of India has already decided to build the corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to the International Border with all modern amenities.”
Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said, “Indian Cabinet endorsement of Pakistan’s proposition on #Kartar- PurBorderOpening is victory of peace lobby in both countries, it’s a step towards the right direction and we hope such steps will encourage voices of reason and tranquillity on both sides of the border.”
Bristling at the assertion India was endorsing Pakistan’s proposal, a source said, “It may be remembered that the proposal is a long-standing demand from the Indian side for more than 20 years. It is Pakistan that has refused to acknowledge the request.” Pointing out that the Cabinet passed the resolution on the Kartarpur Corridor project after many weeks of internal consultations and preparation within the government, he said: “The Cabinet usually meets on Wednesday, but due to the national holiday on account of Milad-un Nabi, the Cabinet met today and approved the resolution.”
The resolution is a comprehensive document that contains detailed information on the plans for the celebration of 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, not just on the corridor. Any suggestion that the corridor or the celebrations are being planned as a response to a Pakistani proposal is not only preposterous, but hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikh community."
According to him, " Our intention is that the corridor must be a full fledged one that allows for maximum movement. It should be open not just on special occasions but throughout the year. The main points of the Indian proposal are: It should be open 365 days, and 24 hours; There must be no restrictions on the number of pilgrims that are travelling across the border; and there must be free and readily available consular access for Indian citizens on the Pakistani side."
"Despite the harassment that pilgrims face on the Pakistani side, with the display of Khalistani posters or through the lack of access to consular officials, Sikh pilgrims continue to make the difficult journey. Our proposal is so that the burden of pilgrims can be eased significantly," he said.