Governance

Home Ministry of India designates immigration checkpoint for Kartarpur in Punjab

SIKH PILGRIMS AT KARTARPUR SAHIB GURUDWARA IN PAKISTAN.

The Home Ministry of India Monday designated the Dera Baba Nanak land post in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to be the exit and entry point for visiting Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan, as an authorised immigration checkpoint.

In a notification, the ministry stated that anyone with valid travel documents can exit or enter through the post.

“In pursuance of sub-rule (b) of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950, the Central government hereby designates Dera Baba Nanak Land Check Post of District Gurdaspur, Punjab State as an authorised Immigration Check Post for entry into/exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers,” the notification stated.

Kartarpur is located in Shakargarh, in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, had spent more than 18 years of his life there.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani delegation will visit India on March 13, in the first set of bilateral meetings on the activation of Kartarpur corridor, to discuss the details of the cross-border pilgrimage. Pakistan has further proposed a reciprocal visit by an Indian delegation 15 days later to “finalise the draft agreement”.

The meetings will be held to facilitate the travel of Sikh pilgrims to Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Gurudwara in Narowal, nearly 4 km from the Gurdaspur border.

“In a spirit of constructive engagement #Pakistan has proposed to India that the Pakistan delegation may visit #India on 13 March followed by the return visit of the Indian delegation to Pakistan on 28 March to finalise the draft agreement for the #kartarpur corridor,” Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal posted on Twitter.

The Kartarpur corridor’s groundbreaking ceremony was conducted in both India and Pakistan in November. The corridor is expected to be completed within six months.

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