Pakistan has sent recommendations to India for facilitating visa-free travel of Indian Sikh pilgrims through the upcoming Kartarpur corridor, according to a media report in Islamabad on Saturday, 29 October.
The recommendations call for Indian pilgrims to be given free entry and that facilitation centres and security check-posts to be set up on both sides of the border.
WHAT WE KNOW
- The pilgrims shall be allowed in groups of a minimum of 15 people and Pakistan shall issue special permits to them.
- Both countries will compile a record of visitors which will include their names, travel records and other details, according to the recommendations.
- The Indian government shall provide a list of pilgrims to Pakistan three days in advance and it will be mandatory for all visitors to bear a standard Indian passport.
- The recommendations further say that all visitors shall be required to obtain a security clearance certificate from Indian authorities.
- Pakistan shall issue permits to 500 visitors per day and local authorities shall reserve rights to admission.
BACKGROUND
On 28 November, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had laid the foundation stone for the corridor on the Pakistani side that will connect Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur to Dera Baba Nanak situated in Indian Punjab's Gurdaspur.
Two days earlier, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh laid the foundation stone for the corridor on the Indian side of the border.
Pakistan has said it will complete and open the corridor before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in November 2019.
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