Centre's advisory for Sikh pilgrims: Carry your passports to Kartarpur

A view of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. Pic/PTI

New Delhi: Two days ahead of the inauguration of the Kartarpur corridor, India on Thursday said conflicting reports are coming from Pakistan on whether Indian pilgrims will require passport to visit the Darbar Sahib shrine using the new facility. Pakistan Army spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Thursday Indian Sikh pilgrims will need a passport to use the Kartarpur Corridor, days after Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Indian devotees would only need a valid ID to visit the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

The Kartarpur Corridor, which provides a visa-free access to Indian Sikhs to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, will be inaugurated on Saturday by Khan to mark Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev's 550th birth anniversary. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said an agreement was signed between the two countries finalising the modalities for visits and India will stick to it. "Conflicting reports are coming from Pakistan. Sometimes they say passport is needed and sometimes they say it is not. There is a bilateral agreement which specified required documents," he said.

He also said Pakistan is yet to confirm the list of Indian dignitaries who will attend the opening ceremony on the Pakistani side. "We are presuming that all names we have shared with Pakistani side for inaugural jatha have been cleared," he said. "We have accordingly advised all the people who are part of the inaugural jatha to prepare for the journey," he added.

'Won't go if govt has any inhibitions'

Navjot Singh Sidhu

Pakistan said on Thursday that it has issued a visa to Navjot Singh Sidhu to attend the inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor on November 9. However, the former Punjab minister wrote to the External Affairs Ministry, asking it to make clear if it has any inhibition on his attending the ceremony. He added if he receives no response to the latest letter he will go to the shrine across the border like "any other pilgrim" ... "on eligible visa".

9Nov
Day Pak opens Kartarpur Corridor

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