Indian Punjab CM, Navjot Singh Sidhu visit Kartarpur

LAHORE: Indian Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Charanjit Singh Channi, along with his ministers, visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Narowal, on Thursday after reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor.

Soon after the announcement of the reopening of Kartarpur Corridor by the Indian government on Wednesday, Indian Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi announced to visit the holy site.

Reportedly, President Indian Congress Punjab Navjot Singh Sidhu has also arrived at the Kartarpur Corridor. Similarly, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Indian Aftab Hasan Khan has also reached there. Senior government officials from Pakistan welcomed the Indian Sikh yatrees (pilgrims).

The Kartarpur Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Indian Punjab. The Kartarpur Corridor, a visa-free crossing, allows Indian Sikhs to visit the temple in Pakistan where Guru Nanak died in 1539.

It was first opened in 2019 for Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government. The historic religious place was closed for the last 20 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier, a spokesperson of Pakistan’s Foreign Office had said Indian Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Om Prakash Soni, along with Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu will visit Pakistan.

Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Harish Chaudhry and eight members of the Indian Punjab Legislative Assembly were also part of the visiting delegation.

Meanwhile, thousands of Sikh pilgrims crossed the Wagha border into Pakistan from India and the rest of the world on Wednesday to participate in the 552nd birth anniversary of the Sikh religion’s founder, Baba Guru Nanak.

The central ceremony of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak will be held on November 19 at Nankana Sahib, some 75 kilometers from Lahore.