To finalise the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor, a second meeting between Pakistan and India is to be held on July 14 in Wagah. The draft agreement for the corridor and related technical issues will be discussed in the meeting.
“Pakistan, today, conveyed to India that the second meeting to discuss the draft agreement for finalising the modalities of Kartarpur Corridor and related technical issues will be held on 14th July 2019 at Wagah,” a statement by Pakistan’s Foreign Office said.
The statement added that Pakistan was committed to expediting the progress on the matter to ensure that the corridor is operationalised in time for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in November 2019.
Official sources in New Delhi confirmed that India will accept the dates proposed by Pakistan as it was in sync with its plan.
The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev.
The first meeting of officials was held in Attari in the shadow of escalating bilateral tensions in March.
India had conveyed its concerns over the presence of several Khalistani separatists in a committee appointed by Pakistan. The FO had said that the 10-member purely-religious committee referred to by India was not specific to Kartarpur but responsible for upkeep of all Gurdwaras in Pakistan.
Earlier this month, Pakistan government earmarked Rs 100 crore in the budget 2019-20 for land acquisition and development of infrastructure of Kartarpur for the next financial year 2019-20.With PTI inputs