India to reopen Kartarpur Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak birth celebrations

• Indian government accepts demand of Sikhs to reopen Kartarpur Corridor. 
• India will reopen corridor on November 17 for Sikh pilgrims to access visa-free corridor for celebration of Baba Guru Nanak's birth. 
• India has not formally informed Pakistani authorities about its decision to reopen corridor, says Evacuee Trust Property Board chairperson.

The Indian government has finally announced to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor on November 17 following the widespread demand from Sikhs as they get ready to celebrate Baba Guru Nanak's birth anniversary.

Sikh members of Indian Parliament from the BJP had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open the Kartarpur Corridor, according to the Indian media.

A delegation comprising the Punjab BJP led by president Ashwani Sharma called on Modi Sunday and made an appeal to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor by Gurpurab. Meanwhile, all Sikh organisations across India also asked the government to reopen the corridor, according to sources.

"In a major decision, that will benefit large numbers of Sikh pilgrims, PM @Narendramodi govt has decided to re-open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from tomorrow, Nov 17," Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah wrote on Twitter.

He hoped the government's decision to reopen the corridor will further boost the joy and happiness across the country.

Citing the worsening COVID-19 situation, India had closed the visa-free corridor on March 16, 2020 after imposing strict travel restrictions. Sikh later asserted that the pandemic situation had eased considerably - enough for Sikh pilgrims to get free travel access to Kartarpur Sahib.

The Sikhs in India also gave a deadline of November 19 to the government to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor. They also formed a Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Sangarash Committee (SKSCSC), which had announced to take its movement for the cause to international platforms if the demand was not met by November 19.

India yet to inform Pakistani authorities about Kartarpur corridor's reopening

Earlier, Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairperson Dr Amir had said that he knows unofficial arrangements are being made by India to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor, but that Pakistan had not been officially informed as yet by the neighbouring country.

“Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued around 3,000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims to participate in the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak in Pakistan from November 17 to November 26, 2021. Thousands of Sikh pilgrims residing in countries other than India would also be visiting Pakistan to attend the event,” the Pakistan High Commission in India announced last week.

Pakistan opened Kartarpur Corridor from its side, now it's India's turn: FO

Addressing his weekly press briefing last week, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said Pakistan had opened the Kartarpur Corridor from its side and India was also expected to allow the Sikh pilgrims desiring to join the upcoming birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak from November 17-26.

“We are all set to welcome thousands of devotees from India and around the world coming to Pakistan for the upcoming birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak from November 17-26 for which elaborate arrangements have been put in place,” the FO spokesperson had said.

He had said Pakistan also commemorated the second anniversary of the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, which was dubbed the ‘Corridor of Hope’ by the UN secretary-general.

"Inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2019, the Corridor is a shining example of our efforts to promote interfaith harmony and is reflective of the primacy Pakistan accords to religious minorities in the country," he said.

The spokesperson noted with growing concern how minorities in India, particularly Muslims, were being systematically persecuted and ostracised under the Hindutva-driven ideology of the BJP-RSS combined.

Besides closing its eyes to radical mobs, the Indian authorities are also pursuing anti-Muslim citizenship-related policies and actions, including the mischievous NRC scheme aimed at disenfranchising millions of Muslims, he added.

Regarding the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the spokesperson condemned the killing of two more Kashmiris by Indian occupation forces on Thursday. "Since 1st October, 21 Kashmiris have been martyred in fake encounters and so-called “cordon and search operations,” he informed.

PM Imran Khan terms Kartarpur Corridor a corridor of interfaith harmony

On the second anniversary of the Corridor, Prime Minister Imran Khan had tweeted: “Today is the second anniversary of the Kartarpur Corridor – a corridor of interfaith harmony that allows India’s Sikh community special access to one of their holiest sites.”

He said Kartarpur Corridor reflected his government’s commitment to minority rights and interfaith harmony.