The second round of talks between India and Pakistan on the Kartarpur corridor is being held here at Wagah today. "The Indian delegation will come to Pakistan for the talks at Wagah," sources said adding: "Both sides will discuss the draft agreement for finalising the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor and related technical issues." After the meeting, foreign office spokesman will brief the media.
The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev.
It may be noted that the first round of talks related to the Kartarpur Corridor was held on March 14 on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border. Initially, the second round of talks was scheduled on April 2 but India had raised some objections.
Last November, India and Pakistan agreed to set up the border crossing linking Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district. Kartarpur Sahib is located in Pakistan's Narowal district across the river Ravi, about 4km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine. Pakistani government earmarked Rs 1 billion (Dh23.1 million) in the federal budget 2019-20 for the development of the much-awaited corridor. The funds will be used for land acquisition and development of infrastructure of Kartarpur under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the next financial year 2019-20. The sources claimed that in Sunday's talks, all matters concerning the Kartarpur corridor opening ceremony and other issues will be finalized.