AMN / Attari-Wagah border
Kartarpur corridor, which allows Sikh pilgrims to travel visa-free to the Kartarpur Gurdwara in Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border, reopened today after 20 months.
The first two pilgrims were given a warm send-off at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) gate by the manager as the Kartarpur Corridor linking Dera Baba Nanak in India to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan opened.
The Union Government yesterday announced the reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara corridor, ahead of Gurupurab – the Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji on Friday.
In a series of tweets, Home Minister Amit Shah said, reopening the Kartarpur Corridor will benefit a large number of Sikh pilgrims. He said, this decision reflects the immense reverence of the Modi Government towards Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji and our Sikh community.
The nation is all set to celebrate the Prakash Utsav of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji on Friday. He said, Modi Government’s decision to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor will further boost the joy and happiness across the country.
Welcoming the move, Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi said the state Cabinet would be part of the jatha which would visit the historic shrine in Pakistan on November 18. Sources said the PMO had been in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home to finalise the modalities of the reopening process after representations were made to the government in this regard.
The move came at a time when the daily Covid cases have stabilised at or below 10,000. The country saw 8,865 new cases in the past 24 hours and daily new infection cases have been below 50,000 for 142 days now.
“Active Covid cases constitute 0.38 per cent of the country’s total cases, the lowest since March 2020, when the corridor was closed. The situation has stabilised,” said a Health Ministry source. The Home Ministry has also assessed the security scenario before giving a go-ahead to reopen the corridor.