PM Narendra Modi To Inaugurate Kartarpur Corridor Today, Manmohan Singh Among First Group Of Pilgrims

The Kartarpur Corridor, which will allow Sikh pilgrims to travel to Darbar Sahib in Pakistan will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, three days before the 50th anniversary of founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev. Among the first group of 550 pilgrims who will to Kartarpur are former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, actor-politician Sunny Deol, and Union Ministers Hardeep Puri and Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

Congress MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu was also given political clearance to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib by the foreign ministry on Thursday.

Pakistan will hold a separate event on the other side of the border, with the country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan declaring it open from the other end of the Kartarpur Corridor.

PM Modi will inaugurate a passenger terminal building, also known as Integrated Check Post, where pilgrims will get clearance to travel through the newly-built corridor. Before the inauguration ceremony, the Prime Minister will offer prayers at Ber Sahib Gurudwara at Sultanpur Lodhi, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said on Friday.

The 4.5 km-long corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur with Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, a small town about four km from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province. It is the place where the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev is believed to have spent the last 18 years of his life.

After reportedly informing India earlier in the day that it will levy such a “service charge” on all days starting today, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson on Friday tweeted to say that they will abide by Imran Khan’s announcement that no fee will be sought on the inaugural day of the Kartarpur Corridor.

India had objected to the $20 service charge that Pakistan said it would impose on Sikh pilgrims. Disagreement over the issue even led to a delay in launching online registration for pilgrims intending to visit the shrine.

PM Modi will participate in a public programme at Dera Baba Nanak after the inauguration.

Dera Baba Nanak is likely to receive some 30,000 pilgrims daily for four days between Friday and Monday. The pilgrims will be accommodated in 544 European-style tents, 100 Swiss cottages and 20 darbar-style tents on a 30-acre plot.

Sikhs from around the world have been arriving in Pakistan ahead of the celebrations for several days already.

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