India, Pakistan sign agreement to operationalise Kartarpur Corridor

New Delhi, Oct 24: India and Pakistan on Thursday signed an agreement to operationalise the historic Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in this country.

The agreement was signed by SCL Das, Joint Secretary, MHA and Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal at the Pakistan- India border in Narowal.

The corridor will be inaugurated on November 9, just before Guru Nanak's 550th birthday anniversary on November 12.

Indian pilgrims of all faith and persons of Indian origin they can use the Kartarpur Corridor. The travel will be visa-free. Pilgrims need to carry only a valid passport.

Giving details about the agreement, Das said that the corridor will be open from dawn to dusk. Pilgrims travelling in morning will have to return on the same day. Corridor will be operational throughout the year except on notified days, to be informed in advance.

Each visitor would be required to pay USD 20 as fee. For registration of pilgrims, online portal (http://prakashpurb550.mha.gov.in ) has gone live today.

In a major initiative last November, both India and Pakistan had agreed to set up the Kartarpur corridor.

The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in Punjab and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which is located in Pakistan's Narowal district across the Ravi river.