Kartarpur Sahib corridor services suspended till further direction: Foreign secy Vikram Misri amid India-Pak conflict

With the tensions escalating between India and Pakistan in past couple of days post Indian Armed Forces successfully destroyed nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, foreign secretary Vikram Misri on Friday said that Kartarpur Sahib corridor services have been suspended till further direction.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Misri said, while stating whether the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor is operational or not, “In view of the existing security scenario, the services of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor have been suspended till further directions.”

Closed since 7 May:

The Kartarpur Sahib Corridor at Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district was shut on 7 May after India's ‘Operation Sindoor’ and has been closed since then.

According to the details, the Kartarpur corridor links the Darbar Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.

On Wednesday morning, several pilgrims reached the Kartarpur corridor to offer prayers at the gurdwara in Pakistan but they were asked to return.

Opened on 9 November 2019 on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the Kartarpur corridor provides Indian pilgrims of all faiths an opportunity to undertake round the year visa-free travel to the historic gurdwara in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev.

As per the agreement signed between India and Pakistan, 5,000 pilgrims per day could cross over to the neighbouring country to pay obeisance at the historic gurdwara, which is situated in Pakistan.

Open from Pakistan's side:

Meanwhile, Ramesh Singh Arora, president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) and a former MLA, appointed as ambassador for the corridor, had said, as quoted by First Post, “The corridor is open from our side. It is a conscious decision of our government to continue welcoming the pilgrims.”

With agency inputs.