Pak Sikh leader lauds govt for giving double entry visa to 10K pilgrims to Kartarpur

A Sikh leader in Pakistan has lauded the government’s decision to allow double entry visa facility to 10,000 pilgrims from the Sikh community to visit the historic shrine in Kartarpur, Pakistan, on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, according to a media report.

Last week, the Pakistan government had earmarked Rs 100 crore in the federal budget of 2019-20 for the development of the much-awaited corridor. Provincial Parliamentary Secretary of Punjab Sardar Mahendar Paal Singh said that the Kartarpur Corridor- which was the long-standing desire of the community globally for the last seventy years, especially from India, particularly in view of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, would be observed on November 6, Dunya news reported.

The Kartarpur corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur district, and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will just have to obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib that was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak Dev.

Talking about the government’s recent initiatives regarding promotion of religious tourism, especially visa facilitation, online visas and visas on arrival, Singh has said that this initiative would benefit tens of thousands of Sikh pilgrims every year and promote interfaith harmony.

He also lauded the government’s decision to allow double entry visa facility to 10,000 Sikh pilgrims to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the report added.