Days after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Indian Sikh pilgrims would not require passports to visit the Kartarpur corridor, ISPR chief Major General Asif Ghafoor has said that Indian Sikh pilgrims would require a passport to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan's Punjab province via the Kartarpur Corridor. The Kartarpur corridor is set to be inaugurated on Saturday ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.
"As we have a security link, the entry would be a legal one under a permit on a passport-based identity. There will be no compromise on security or sovereignty," Dawn news quoted Ghafoor, the Director General of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) - the media wing of the military, as saying on Wednesday.
Earlier on November 1, Imran Khan had announced the completion of Kartarpur Corridor on Twitter and had announced waiving conditions of carrying a passport for identification and prior registration for the visitors.
The Pakistan government had also exempted the Indian pilgrims from paying a $20 entry fee on the day of the inauguration of the corridor and Guru Nanak Dev's birthday.
Also, the Sikhs coming from India would no longer need to register 10 days in advance to visit the Kartarpur corridor, Imran Khan had said.
Kartarpur Corridor provides visa-free access to Indian Sikhs to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, originally known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, a highly revered Sikh shrine where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life and is his final resting place.
The corridor has been established to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak falling on November 12.
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