Pakistan renews Kartarpur agreement with India to facilitate Sikh pilgrims

• Agreement continues to offer visa-free access to pilgrims from India.
• Since its inception, corridor facilitated thousands of Sikh pilgrims. 
• Corridor opened in 2019 for Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary.

Pakistan has renewed an agreement with India for the facilitation of pilgrims to visit Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal for an additional period of five years, the Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday. 

“Originally signed on 24 October 2019 for a five-year term, the Agreement is set to complete its initial duration on 24 October 2024. Its renewal underscores Pakistan’s enduring commitment to fostering interfaith harmony and peaceful coexistence,” the statement added. 

The agreement continues to offer visa-free access to pilgrims from India enabling them to visit the sacred site of Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, where Baba Guru Nanak, the revered founder of Sikhism, spent his final days.

Since its inception, the corridor had facilitated the pilgrimage of thousands of worshippers to this holy site.

The Kartarpur Corridor fulfills the long-cherished aspirations of the Sikh community for an access to one of their most revered religious landmarks.

“It reflects Pakistan’s recognition of the importance of safeguarding the rights of religious minorities. The initiative has earned widespread appreciation from the international community, including the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who described it as a “Corridor of Hope”, it was further added.

The Kartarpur corridor is a visa-free crossing allowing Indian Sikhs to visit the temple just 4km (2.5 miles) inside Pakistan where Guru Nanak died in 1539.

The corridor first opened in 2019 for Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary but was closed last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The corridor connects Pakistani and Indian Punjab, the birthplace of Sikhism, which was divided between the two countries after they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

Sikhs are a tiny minority in Muslim-majority Pakistan, although many of their religious sites remain there.