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Pakistan ready to reopen Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from Monday
Pakistan foreign minister Mahmood Qureshi tweets Islamabad is prepared to reopen the corridor on the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on June 29
Pakistan is ready to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from June 29, three months after the corridor was closed as a precautionary measure to check the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Announcing this, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday tweeted that the decision was taken on the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh empire in the early 19th century.
“As places of worship open up across the world, Pakistan prepares to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for all Sikh pilgrims, conveying to the Indian side our readiness to reopen the corridor on 29 June, 2020, the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh,” Qureshi tweeted.
Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Satwant Singh said that the PSGPC and Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) have made all arrangements to host Indian pilgrims at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, in the wake of the reopening of the corridor. “We are ready to welcome pilgrims and all precautions will be taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 ,” he said.
Immigration officials on the Indian side said they have not received any communication in this regard from the government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the corridor connecting Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Punjab with the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan last November.
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his predecessor Parkash Singh Badal along with Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee leadership were present at the inaugural ceremony.
