Pakistan is ready to open Kartarpur Corridor from June 29.
Pak Foreign Minister tells India that they are ready to reopen the corridor, on the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.
On Saturday morning, Pakistan conveyed to India, that on June 29, it was ready to reopen the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib on the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, today, announced Islamabad’s preparedness to restart the corridor for the Sikh pilgrims.
Due to the novel Covid-19 virus, the corridor was shut in March as a precautionary measure. In a tweet this morning Qureshi said,” As places of worship open up across the world, Pakistan prepares to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for all Sikh pilgrims, conveying to the Indian side our readiness to reopen the corridor on 29 June 2020, the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.”
The Indian government in March this year had temporarily suspended registration and travel to the corridor due to the global Coronavirus pandemic. Punjab Health officials had warned the transmission of the virus as individuals from both India and Pakistan had access to the Karatarpur Sahib shrine.
Corridor to resume after being suspended in March due to Coronavirus:
As per sources, between 7 and 13 March, a total of around 3871 pilgrims had visited Karatarpur Sahib after crossing over from the Dera Baba Nanak border in Gurdaspur.
In April this year, some parts of the holy shrine were damaged due to a thunderstorm, to which India had urged Pakistan to rectify and rebuild it as soon as they can. Pakistan government claimed that they had repaired the damage caused by rains and winds within hours. The latest announcement by Pakistan shows a positive political sign during a tense phase in Indo-Pak relations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last November, had inaugurated the corridor connecting Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab with Gurudwara of Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
