Guru Nanak’s 550th Birth Anniversary: India-Pakistan Agree To Open Kartarpur Corridor For Sikh Pilgrims

India and Pakistan, on Thursday (22 November), confirmed the opening of a corridor on either side of the border to let Sikh pilgrims visit the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, The New Indian Express has reported.

Guru Nanak built the Darbar Sahib Gurudwara at Kartarpur. Located just across the international border between India and Pakistan, Kartarpur is also believed to be the final resting place of the first Sikh guru.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a cabinet meet on Thursday (22 November) which cleared a proposal to build a 4 km corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Punjab to the International border.

Shah Mahmood Quraishi, foreign minister of Pakistan, confirmed his country would open the Kartarpur corridor on the occasion of five hundred fiftieth birth anniversary of Guru Nanak next year.

“Pakistan has already conveyed to India it's decision to open Kartarpura Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. PM Imran Khan will do break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28 November. We welcome the Sikh community to Pakistan for this auspicious occasion” Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in an earlier statement has said that they have “approached and urged” the Pakistan government to build a corridor in their territory to facilitate easy and smooth visits of Sikh pilgrims from India to Kartarpur Sahib.