Pakistan announces re-opening of Kartarpur corridor on June 29

“As places of worship open up across the world, Pakistan prepares to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for all Sikh pilgrims, conveying to the Indian side our readiness to reopen the corridor on 29 June 2020, the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Twitter.

The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing and secure corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan with India.

Earlier, it was shut from March 16 for indefinite period keeping in view the outbreak of pandemic novel coronavirus.

Since then, the lethal Coronavirus has engulfed both the nations with India reaching the 4th spot among the countries with maximum cases and Pakistan's nationwide tally nearing 2 lakh mark.

Village Kartarpur is located at the west bank of the river Ravi where Sikh saint Guru Nanak Dev spent last 18 years of his life. Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak is about 1 km from the Indo- Pakistan border and on the east bank of River Ravi.

To the west side of the river is located the town of Kartarpur, Pakistan. Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib falls in district Narowal of Pakistan, about 4.5 k.m. from the international border near the historic town of Dera Baba Nanak, District Gurdaspur, Punjab.

The Indian part of Dera Baba Nanak - Sri Kartarpur Sahib corridor involves a 4.1 k.m. long four lane highway from Dera Baba Nanak to international border and a state of the art Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) at the international border.

The corridor was inaugurated in November last. 

Image: UNI