What Pakistan hopes to achieve through Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Project
New Delhi, Nov 08: For Pakistan, which is struggling to rebuild its economy and image, the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor is an opportunity to project itself as a moderate nation while earning a tidy sum annually from pilgrims.
Before coming to power, Prime Minister Imran Khan often railed at the successive governments of Pakistan for failing to exploit the vast potential of tourism, including revered religious sites, to attract tourists from around the world.
After assuming power last year, among the first things he did was to take steps to attract visitors for sight-seeing and pilgrimage.
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Addressing a tourism summit organised by his government here in April, Khan said the God has bestowed Pakistan with diverse kind of landscapes.
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"We
need
to
give
tourists
awareness
about
the
scenic
beauty
of
the
country,"
Khan
said.
He
also
highlighted
religious
tourism,
especially
for
the
followers
of
Sikhism,
Buddhism,
and
Hinduism.
In November last year, he performed the historic groundbreaking of the development work for the opening of the Kartarpur shrine for Sikhs in India and the rest of the world.
The construction work has been completed in record time on the corridor. Khan is set to inaugurate it on Saturday, ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, on November 12.
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Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that 10,000 Sikhs will attend the opening ceremony and then every day at least 5,000 Sikhs from India and an equal number from Pakistan and other places be allowed to visit the shrine.
The opening of the corridor for the Sikh community will open vast opportunities for religious tourism," he said.
During the last two decades, Pakistan has suffered due to violence and terrorism. The country's economy nosedived and it lost its image as a business-friendly country.
Government
estimates
show
that
over
USD
126
billion
were
lost
by
the
end
of
2018.
As
Khan
struggles
to
rebuild
the
shattered
economy
and
visage
of
the
country,
he
desperately
needs
to
offer
better
options
to
the
outside
world.
With Sikhs coming to Pakistan in droves, Khan's dream is getting close to realisation. The quick development work at Kartarpur despite tensions with India is being appreciated.
The corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just 4 kilometres from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
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At Darbar Sahib, Guru Nanak had spent the last 18 years of his life.
Notwithstanding a chill in bilateral ties over Kashmir, Pakistan and India after tough negotiations signed a landmark agreement on October 24 to operationalise the corridor to allow Indian pilgrims to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.
Pakistan's
officials
are
showcasing
Kartarpur
as
the
symbol
of
religious
harmony
and
representative
of
the
teachings
of
Islam
about
showing
respect
towards
non-Muslims.
"We
are
following
the
footsteps
of
Prophet
Muhammad
regarding
the
provision
of
facilities
to
minorities,"
Faisal
said.
There seems to be a conscious effort to distance from extremism and terrorism which over the years became synonymous with Pakistan.
By showing the other side of Islam, Khan's government is trying to build a case to divert pressure that Pakistan was not doing enough to eliminate militancy.
The opening of the corridor may prove handy to wriggle out of the Grey List of the Financial Action Task Force that will met in February to review Pakistan's performance on combating terror-financing and money laundering.
As far as the rebuilding of the economy is concerned, religious tourism can directly and indirectly help. For example, Pakistan decided to levy USD 20 as service charge from every pilgrim coming from India.
Officials are hoping to collect a tidy sum annually that will be handy to support the balance of payment and boost foreign reserves.
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Pakistan is expected to earn up to Indian Rs 258 crore per annum - about Pakistani Rs 571 crore - from pilgrims visiting Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.
Last week, a group of 185 Sikhs were flown to Lahore by Pakistan International Airlines from London to attend the 550 birth anniversary rites of Baba Guru Nanak, indirectly helping the cash-starved national flag-carrier.
As Sikhs flock to Pakistan, Buddhists may not remain far behind. Last month a group of Buddhist from South Korea visited a stupa in Haripur in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province.
It is believed that after the success of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, Pakistan is also aiming to market Taxila and its vast Buddhist heritage to the followers of Buddhism around the world.
Faisal
said
tourism
is
an
industry
that
Pakistan
was
unable
to
focus
on
earlier,
however,
Khan's
government
is
making
a
concerted
effort
to
promote
this
industry
in
the
country.
"One
of
the
facets
of
the
tourism
industry
is
religious
tourism.
Sikhs/Nanak
NaamLevas
(followers),
Hindus
and
Buddhist
monks
etc
have
various
holy
sites
in
Pakistan
and
we
are
trying
to
tap
this
potential
of
religious
tourism,"
he
said.
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According to a report, 1.75 million tourists visited Pakistan in 2017.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to Pakistan's economy was USD 20,098.9 million in 2019.
Faisal said many initiatives under religious tourism were currently in the pipeline and a great deal of effort was being put in for their fruition.
"The promotion of such initiatives will also help in boosting the economy of Pakistan," he said.