Pakistan on Sunday agreed in principle to allow visa-free, year-long travel to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara for Indian passport holders and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card holders.
After much pressure from the Indian side, Pakistan on Saturday had dropped the name of pro-Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla from the Kartarpur panel. The Imran-Khan led country, however, included the name of another pro-Khalistani leader Ameer Singh in the panel. The talks between India and Pakistan are slated to be held at the Attari-Wagah border.
The Pakistan government announced a new 10-member Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) on Friday, minus Chawla, following objections from India.
As India and Pakistan are slated to hold talks on the sideline of Kartarpur corridor on Sunday, the name of pro-Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla has been dropped from the committee.
India and Pakistan are slated to hold talks over Kartarpur corridor tomorrow. Just ahead of the talks, Pakistan has dropped the name of pro-Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla from the panel. As per sources, Chawla holds meetings with Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. He is even believed to have contacts with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The first round of talks was held on March 14 on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border and the second round is scheduled for July 14 (Sunday) at Wagah, on the Pakistani side.
Experts from India and Pakistan will meet on Sunday at the Wagah border to discuss the draft agreement for finalising the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor and related technical issues, Pakistan Foreign Office said on Thursday.
The assertion came after a media report quoted Punjab Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who is head of the Kartarpur Development Project, as saying that Pakistan had completed more than 70 per cent of work, while India is lagging behind with just about 30 per cent completion.
Ahead of the second meeting to discuss the draft agreement for finalising the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor, Pakistan on Monday welcomed Indian media to attend the meeting at Wagah, and said visas can be applied for the same.
India and Pakistan will hold technical meetings on Kartarpur corridor on from July 11 to 14. The meetings have been proposed by the Indian side to solidify the framework through which arrangements will be made to facilitate the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims would be allowed to visit Kartarpur only under a special permit regime and on charging a fee against India's proposal for visa-free and no-fee travel, Pakistan said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a letter written in response to a congratulatory message by his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, has called for "early operationalisation of the Kartarpur corridor which is functional all the year round", according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
"The construction of the passage will be accomplished by September 30, well in time before the 550th Parkash Purb (birth anniversary) celebrations of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev," said Singla in an official release.
In a major initiative last November, both India and Pakistan agreed to set up the Kartarpur corridor to link the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib -- the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev -- to Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur.
The technical experts and foreign office officials from both sides participated in the talks held at Zero Point (Kartarpur), according to Geo News. They reportedly discussed installation of a border fence and road design.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India had sought clarification from Pakistan on certain issues but to no avail.
An Indian delegation will visit Pakistan to take the discussions further at a meeting on April 2 on the Pakistani side of the Attari border.
The sources said that while Pakistan assured visa-free access to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, it is asking for the requirement of issue of a special permit to each pilgrim. Defeating the purpose of the dedicated corridor.
Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, officials of both the countries will meet today to finalise modalities of the corridor to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, with India keen for visa-free access to the pilgrims to the historic shrine across the border.
The passenger terminal building complex will have all the necessary passenger amenities to facilitate pilgrims intending to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, located across the border in Pakistan.
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