Islamabad/New Delhi - Nestled in the verdant green rice fields of Pakistan's eastern Narowal district, the white domes of the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara offer a striking contrast.

Centuries ago, it is said, Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, spent his final days in this small village, farming the fields and formalising many of the practices of what would become a religion followed by more than 25 million people around the world.

When he died in 1539, the legend goes that he was so revered by both Hindus and Muslims that there was a dispute over how his remains should be treated: Should he be buried, in the Islamic tradition, or cremated, as Hindus wished?

Today, at the Sikh gurdwara, or place of worship, built over his final resting place, there is both a Muslim grave and a Hindu samadhi (shrine) marking his passing.

A few kilometres away, Sikhs gather at a podium to view one of the most sacred sites in their religion, lining up to pay tribute to Guru Nanak by viewing the gurdwara through a set of binoculars.

They are unable to access the site, just five kilometres away, because between the two gurdwaras lies an obstacle that has been almost insurmountable for most: The international border between India and Pakistan.

All that, however, is about to change.

Starting a new era

On Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated a new visa-free corridor between the gurdwara at Kartarpur and the Indian town of Dera Baba Nanak, about six kilometres away.

Sikh pilgrims will be able to travel freely between the two holy sites without visas for the first time since the border was established here in 1947 when India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain.

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Khan, inaugurating the project, which will see the construction of a new road and bridge that would link the two sites, spoke of wanting to open a new era of relations between India and Pakistan.

"There have been mistakes on both sides [in the past], but we will not be able to move forward until we break the chains of the past," said Khan. "The past is there only to teach us, not for us to live in."

Also present on the occasion were Indian federal ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri, and provincial Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The inauguration in Pakistan follows a similar event on the Indian side of the border earlier this week, attended by the chief minister of India's Punjab province and the country's vice president. The corridor will formally open next year, in time for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations for Guru Nanak.

It marks a rare moment of positivity in relations between the two South Asian nations, who have fought three wars since gaining independence and between whom dialogue has been stalled for years.

Earlier this year, India cancelled planned foreign minister-level talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly following the killing of Indian security forces personnel in the disputed region of Kashmir by armed separatists.

India accuses Pakistan of supporting the armed separatist movement in Kashmir, which both countries claim in full but administer separate portions of. Pakistan denies the charge and alleges that India foments instability by supporting separatists in Balochistan province.

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With the opening of the corridor - a long-standing demand of the Sikh community and one which Pakistan proposed to be followed through with earlier this year - the Pakistani government says it is showing that it is prepared to take concrete steps to ease tensions.

"The story of Kartarpur is as old as the history of Pakistan and India's independence itself," Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan's information minister, told Al Jazeera.

"We have groups on both sides of the border, some who are pro-peace, and many who do not want [talks] to occur. It is for the government to decide who to support. With this step, we have shown where we stand."

For Sikhs in the area, the opening of the corridor is the culmination of a long-held dream.

"We have been asking for this for years," said Ramesh Singh Arora, a Sikh community leader in Narowal who tends to the gurdwara. "It will make it a lot easier for people to come from India and then return to their country."

With the inaugurations this week, work will now begin on a fenced-off road between the gurdwara at Kartarpur and the gurdwaras on the Indian side of the border, which will allow Sikhs to access both sites without a visa.

Previously, Arora says, pilgrims were forced to cross the border at the Wagah/Attari crossing, a journey of more than 200km that involved dealing with a restrictive visa regime and travelling by road for hours.

"It's a sense of homecoming. This is an emotional moment for the community," says Bhabishan Singh Goraya, 67, a Sikh resident of nearby Amritsar, in India's Punjab province. "We have been demanding this for so long."

Political pressures

Analysts say the Indian government, led by right-wing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was pressured into opening the corridor due to domestic political pressures.

"Politics did play a factor, with general elections in India less than six months away," Krishan Pratap Singh, a New-Delhi based analyst, told Al Jazeera. "The Akali Dal, a coalition partner of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, is struggling in Punjab with internal strife and the Kartarpur corridor is being seen as an attempt to provide them a much-needed fillip."

It is a point that has been made in Pakistan, too.

"The reaction from Delhi [to the Kartarpur proposal] was always very negative," said Pakistani Information Minister Chaudhry. "But now that they have elections in Punjab, so the Indian government has changed its position because of that. Internal public pressure has changed it."

One of the sources of opposition to the corridor within India has been security concerns regarding the free movement of citizens between the two countries, even in the controlled environment of the corridor.

"There are apprehensions that some left-over elements of the [Sikh separatist] Khalistan movement still operate from Pakistani territory," said Sreeram Chaulia, dean of New Delhi's Jindal School of International Affairs.

"They are still capable of appealing to vulnerable Sikh youth, recruiting and mobilising them. India has no way of monitoring once they are inside Pakistani soil."

Sikh separatists in India began agitating for a separate homeland in the 1970s, but the movement petered out two decades later. India believes there has been an attempt to revive separatist groups in the recent past.

Pakistani analysts, too, warn that while the corridor may be a rare success story, the prospect of any resumption of dialogue between the countries remains dim.

"This is a good move in a situation where there is little hope of any improvement in the relations between the two countries," said Zahid Hussain, an Islamabad-based security analyst.

"But I don't think it will change the overall atmosphere that prevails right now. It's more for public consumption rather than a move that could change the politics of the region," he added.

Hussain points out that the opening of the corridor could not have occurred without backing from Pakistan's powerful military, which has ruled the country for roughly half of its 71-year history.

This is a good move in a situation where there is little hope of any improvement in the relations between the two countries. Zahid Hussain, an Islamabad-based security analyst

Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa has publicly supported the project and first discussed it with Indian legislator Sidhu at Prime Minister Khan's inauguration in August. General Bajwa was also in attendance at the ground-breaking on Wednesday.

Pakistan's government is planning further confidence-building measures, Information Minister Chaudhry said, including the easing of visa restrictions on Indian journalists.

"Pakistan has shown a bigger heart," he said. "We had the attack on the Chinese consulate [last week] and we still didn't stop this initiative [on Kartarpur] - the Indian support for the Baloch Liberation Army is not a secret."

Chaudhry was referring to an attack on the Chinese diplomatic mission in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi by Baloch separatists on Friday, which killed two policemen.

Regardless of the tension in the relationship between the states, the Sikh community remains jubilant about the opening of the corridor.

"There are lots of relations on either side. When partition happened, most of our relatives went to India from Pakistan," said Arora. "We decided to stay. We are Pakistani, but we are one people."

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeera's digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.

Zeenat Saberin is Al Jazeera's digital correspondent in India. She tweets at @SaberinZe.</s>Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday laid the foundation stone of Kartarpur corridor in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. Recently, both India and Pakistan agreed to build the corridor linking India to a historic gurudwara in Pakistan's Kartarpur where Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life.

Gurdaspur, November 26: Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday laid the foundation stone of Kartarpur corridor in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. Recently, both India and Pakistan agreed to build the corridor linking Indian town of Dera Baba Nanak to a historic gurudwara in Pakistan's Kartarpur where Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life. On November 22, Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced the decision to open the corridor. Responding to India’s request, Pakistan announced the construction of the corridor on its side. Navjot Singh Sidhu Accepts Pakistan's Invitation to Attend Opening Ceremony of Kartarpur Corridor, Writes to MEA for Permission.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will lay the foundation stone of the religious corridor on November 28. It will be opened for Sikh pilgrims on the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev. Speaking at the event on Monday, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, hit out at Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa over the increasing incidents of ceasefire violations. The Punjab chief minister said, "Which Army teaches to violate ceasefire and kill jawans on the other side? Which Army teaches to send people to attack Pathankot and Amritsar? This is cowardness."

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Kartarpur Sahib is around six kilometres from the Indian town of Dera Baba Nanak. Though the Dera Baba Nanak has a railway station, Gurdaspur and Amritsar are major stations, which are close to the border town where inter-state trains halt. From Gurdaspur, it is around 40km, and from Amritsar, it is 45km. However, Amritsar has better road connectivity to Dera Baba Nanak as compared to Gurdaspur. Pilgrims coming from Delhi are advised to take a bus from Amritsar to visit the corridor, while people from Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh can take a route through Gurdaspur to reach the corridor. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh's Name on Kartarpur Foundation Stone Black-taped by His Minister Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa.

The nearest airport to Dera Baba Nanak is Sri Guru Ram Das Airport, Amritsar. Pilgrims travelling from abroad or from other Indian states can take a flight to Amritsar, and take a cab or a bus to visit the corridor. The distance between Kartarpur Sahib and Indian Border is four kilometres (approx.)</s>ISLAMABAD: The foundation stone laying ceremony of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor at Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in Indian Punjab district Gurdaspur on Monday marred with contentious statements, tug of war between ministers representing State and Union governments as BJP designated Vice President Venkaiah Naidu performed the ceremony in tense atmosphere.

Indian Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, who is a former Captain of Indian Army, delivered highly obnoxious speech against Pakistan and its military leadership. Amarinder Singh was posted at Khem Karan sector on Indian side in 1971 Pakistan-India war where Indian troops suffered heavy causalities. According to media reports first controversy erupted with a Congress minister objecting to the names of former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal belonging to Akali-BJP alliance opposition in Indian Punjab engraved on the foundation stone to be laid for the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

Punjab's Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was reviewing the arrangements made for the function when he spotted the names of the Badals on the foundation stone. A furious Randhawa then enquired about it with the officials concerned. “I asked them (authorities concerned) about the status of former CM Parkash Singh Badal and former Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal in the govt. If they want to write their names, the name of Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and others should also be there,” Randhawa said.

He accused the Badals of never visiting the Dera Baba Nanak for "the opening of the corridor" when they were in power. It's not a function of the BJP or the Akalis, he said.

The local MLA said: "It is not a political function. It is a government function, and I told them their (Badals) names should not be there." “My name should not be with the Badals' on the foundation stone," he said, and then went on to pasting a black tape on his name and that of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, State Minister Vijay Inder Singla and Gurdaspur Member Parliament Sunil Jakhar. "This is not a war for taking credit. Nobody’s name should have been there. ‘The Guru Ka Marg (Road of Guru) dedicated by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’ should have been mentioned instead,” said Randhawa. After the protest by the Punjab minister, the particular foundation stone was removed.

The Kartarpur Sahib corridor will facilitate easy passage to Sikh pilgrims to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan. Kartarpur is located in Shakargarh in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, had spent more than 18 years of his life there. The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is located about three-four km from the border in Pakistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the Kartarpur Corridor on the Pakistani side tomorrow (November 28).

Later, Indian Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh in his speech disregarding international norms by hurling allegations against Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javaid Bajwa and said that he is violating ceasefire and vitiating the atmosphere in India. “I am warning you (Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Bajwa). We are also Punjabis, you will not be allowed to enter here and vitiate the atmosphere,” the Punjab CM said. Questioning the Pakistan Army Chief as a military man, Captain Singh referred to the act of violating ceasefire as cowardly. “Which Army teaches to violate ceasefire and kill jawans on the other side? Which Army teaches to send people to attack Pathankot and Amritsar? This is cowardness,” he said while speaking at the ground laying ceremony of Kartapur corridor on Monday.</s>Kartarpur corridor is a proposed border-corridor between India and Pakistan connecting the Sikh holy shrine of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib with the holy shrine of Kartarpur Sahib in Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab.

The call for a visa-free Kartarpur Sahib corridor is an old demand from the Sikh community. Subsequently, the Pakistan government in September 2018, decided to open the corridor before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak for visa-free entry of Indian Sikhs from India to Pakistan.

The Gurdwara is also notable for its location near the border between Pakistan and India. The shrine is visible from the Indian side of the border. Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers to performdarshan, or sacred viewing of the site, from the Indian side of the border through binoculars.

The shrine is located by the River Ravi within a distance of 4 km from the Dera Sahib railway station in India.

The proposal to construct the corridor, providing visa-free access to Sikh pilgrims, was renewed by Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in August this year while talking to Congress leader and Indian Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, during the latter's visit to Pakistan in August for attending Prime Minister Imran Khan's oath-taking ceremony. The Kartarpur corridor aims to ease travel for Indian pilgrims visiting one of the holiest sites of the Sikh faith in Pakistan.

Sidhu crossed the international border at Wagah and was received by Pakistani authorities. Speaking to reporters at the Wagah Border, Sidhu hailed the Kartarpur Corridor. He credited PM Imran Khan for the initiative. By congratulating Pakistan and India for providing the facility to Sikhs after 73 years, he said: "I want to avoid conflicts - religion should not been seen through the lens of politics. There is no rule in the world that prevents religious devotees to visit places of worship". Pakistan has warmly welcomed and initiated the ground-breaking ceremony and extended their hands in welcome to the Indian ministers and journalists on the occasion.

The Pakistan government has invited Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, the Chief Minister of Indian Punjab Amarinder Singh and minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, besides 17 Indian journalists to the groundbreaking ceremony.

However, Swaraj excused herself from attending the ceremony, citing "prior commitments".

Prime Minister Imran Khan will perform the groundbreaking today. The move to open the corridor, analysts say, might thaw the frosty relationship between the two neighbours.

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Also watch | Kartarpur corridor: New beginning of India-Pakistan ties or false dawn?</s>Pakistan and India to get border crossing for Sikh pilgrims

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's prime minister is to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the first visa-free border crossing with India, a corridor that will allow Sikh pilgrims to easily visit their shrines on each side of the border.

The crossing — known as Karatarpur corridor — is a rare sign of cooperation between the two nuclear-armed rival countries. It's unclear how long the construction will take or when the crossing will actually open.

Instead of visas, the pilgrims will be given special permits to access their shrines — the Dera Baba Nanak in India's Punjab province, and the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Narowal border district in its own Punjab province.

Wednesday's ceremony comes after India last week gave the green light for the crossing, an initiative of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.</s>ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister is to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the first visa-free border crossing with India, a corridor that will allow Sikh pilgrims to easily visit their shrines on each side…

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister is to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the first visa-free border crossing with India, a corridor that will allow Sikh pilgrims to easily visit their shrines on each side of the border.

The crossing — known as Karatarpur corridor — is a rare sign of cooperation between the two nuclear-armed rival countries. It’s unclear how long the construction will take or when the crossing will actually open.

Instead of visas, the pilgrims will be given special permits to access their shrines — the Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab province, and the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Narowal border district in its own Punjab province.

Wednesday’s ceremony comes after India last week gave the green light for the crossing, an initiative of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>We should end hatred between our countries, says Indian Union Minister Badal

“If the Berlin Wall can fall, hatred between India and Pakistan can also end”, Indian Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan.

She attended the ceremony along with an Indian delegation, including Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and other officials as well as local and Indian Sikh pilgrims. 



They came to Pakistan through Attari-Wagah land route in Amritsar to attend the ceremony as representatives of the Indian government.

Indian cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was also among the prominent guests who were invited to the ceremony.

The groundbreaking was performed by Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who welcomed all the guests who came from India on Wednesday.

Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine. It was established by the Sikh Guru in 1522. The first gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built here, where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died.

The Kartarpur Corridor will facilitate the visa-free travel for Indian Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.</s>The following is the chronology of events leading up to the foundation laying for the corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims:

1522: The first Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was established by the first Sikh Guru where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died.

February 1999: The Kartarpur Sahib corridor was proposed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he took a bus ride to Lahore during a peace initiative with Pakistan.

2000: Pakistan agrees to allow Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the shrine visa-free (and without passport) by constructing a bridge from the India side of the border to the shrine.

August 2018: Upon his return from Islamabad, Sidhu says that Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa informed him that the Pakistan government would open the Dera Baba Nanak (Kartarpur) corridor on Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary.

November 22: Indian Cabinet approves the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to the Pakistan border.

November 26: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu lays the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak - Kartarpur Sahib Corridor (up to the International Border) at an event at Mann village of Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

November 28: Prime Minister Imran Khan lays the foundation stone of the 4-km corridor which is expected to be completed by next year.</s>Kartarpur aimed at lessening tension between two countries

ISLAMABAD: It is a matter of great respect and pride for Pakistan that holy places of three big religions of the world – Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism – are situated in Pakistan. Taxila in Rawalpindi district of Punjab has been a centre of Buddhism’s Gandhara civilisation. The Katas Raj temples, also known as Qila Katas, situated near Chakwal city, is a very sacred place for Hindus, with centuries old history, while Hasanabdal, Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur towns are well known in the world as sacred places of the Sikh community.

Kartarpur’s Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, situated at the bank of River Ravi about 10 kilometres from Narowal city, is being opened to Sikh Yatrees from India through a new border crossing on Nov 28. India’s zero line (border) is just three, four kilometres away from Kartarpur. Before the Partition, tehsil Narowal, in which Kartarpur is situated, and tehsil Shakargarh were part of Indian’s Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. After creation of Pakistan, these tehsils were made part of district Sialkot, and in 1991, Narowal and Shakargarh were upgraded as districts.

It has been a long-drawn demand of Indian Sikh Yatrees that they should be provided with the facility of visiting Kartarpur’s Gurdwara Darbar Sahib directly from Dera Baba Nanak, a city and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district of Indian Punjab. Pakistan contacted India time and again in the past in this regard, but failed to get a positive response every time. A suggestion was made once again few months back. As India is going to election next year, the Narendra Modi government showed willingness to accept the suggestion and open the Kartarpur border, to win the support of the Sikh community in polls.

According to the programme, Prime Minister Imran Khan will perform the groundbreaking of the Kartarpur Corridor project on Nov 28. The move is aimed at facilitating the Sikh Yatrees from India on the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, being celebrated next year (2019).

Currently, the Sikh Yatrees intending to visit Kartarpur’s Gurdwara Darbar Sahib have to reach Lahore first through Wagah border crossing and then proceed toward Kartarpur through Baddomalhi. However, after opening of Kartarpur border crossing and construction of the corridor, the Yatrees will have to cover just six kilometres distance across Ravi River.

Historically, the proposal for opening of Kartarpur border crossing was discussed between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998 for the first time. When Vajpayee came to Lahore in his Dosti (Friendship) Bus in 1999, the plan was discussed again. Pakistan People’s Party has also supported the initiative always. During the Pervez Musharraf era, when composite dialogue process was launched between Pakistan and India in 2004-5, the two countries had agreed on launching the Khokhrapar-Munabao railway line and Amritsar-Lahore-Kartarpur road link. However, later on relations between the two countries got tense and the plans could not be implemented due to security reasons. During Pakistan Muslim League-N government, the then interior minister Ahsan Iqbal also made various efforts for Indian Sikh Yatrees’ direct access to Kartarpur’s Gurdwara.

However, the final decision was reached after Imran Khan’s party won General Election in 2018. During the swearing-in ceremony of Premier Imran Khan in May 2018, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa told visiting former cricketer and incumbent Indian Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu that he was in favour of construction of Kartarpur Corridor to facilitate the Yatrees. The announcement sent a wave of joy among the Sikh community in India and Pakistan.

The initiative, launched by Pakistan, is primarily aimed at reducing tensions between the two countries. At the moment, the corridor would be used only for performance of religious rituals by the Sikh Yatrees. The road leading to the Gurdwara from Indian border would be fenced properly. Pakistan has awarded the task of construction Kartarpur religious corridor to Frontier Works Organization (FWO), which is carrying out work on it at a fast pace. The Pakistani government is preparing a master plan for construction and completion of the corridor, and it is hoped the project would be completed by November 2019, when the Sikh community would celebrate 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. It is also hoped the act of inaugurating work on Kartarpur Corridor by Prime Minister Imran Khan would prove to be beginning of new relations with India.

Pakistan and India are engaged in trade via two routes, Karachi port and Wagah-Atari currently. Pakistan has suggested opening old trade routes of Khokharapar-Munabao in Sindh and Head Sulemanki in Punjab. Rawalakot, Poonch, Chakothi and Srinagar routes were opened to trade and travel in 2008, but they fell prey to security issues. If the intra-Kashmir corridor had remained open, trade between Jammu and Sialkot could have been restored. By building Kartarpur-Dera Baba Nanak Corridor, the old trade route of Amritsar-Jammu could also be made functional. To facilitate visitors, a 4km long bridge over the Ravi will have to be built, which was blasted in the 1965 war.

Pakistan's total border is about 6,774km. Pakistan and India share 2240km long border, which was demarked on August 17, 1947. The border includes Working Boundary, over 740km long Line of Control also exists between them. Indian Gujarat borders Tharparker, Umerkot, Sanghar, Khairpur, Ghotki in Sindh, Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur and Bahwalnagar in Punjab, while Indian Punjab touches Okara, Kasur, Lahore and Narowal in Pakistan's Punjab. Narowal and Sialkot districts lie on Pakistan's side of the Working Boundary, while occupied Jammu and Kashmir are on the Indian side of the Working Boundary. Then starts the Line of Control, which has Azad and occupied Jummu and Kashmir on both sides, respectively. It is a temporary border between India and Pakistan. Three crossings exist on the most dangerous border of the world. The Wagah-Atari border is the most famous. Wagah is a village in Pakistan while Atari is part of Indian city of Amritsar. It is the first Indian city on the Lahore-Delhi rail track. A heart-warming flag-lowering ceremony takes place at Wagah every day. Kartarpur Darbar Sahib exists few kilometres from India. It takes three hours from Lahore to reach there. After opening of the Kartarpur border, Indian city of Qadian will be at a distance of just 2.5 hours.

There is a barbed wire towards the East of Ravi on Indian border. Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur is a unique site. This site is near the border as compared to Sikh holy sites like Dear Sahib, Lahore, Punja Sahib, Hasanabdal and Janam Asthan Nankana, in Pakistan. Gurdwara Kartarpur is the holiest worship place for the Sikh community. These are birth and death places of Baba Guru Nanak. Baba Guru Nanak travelled all over the world in his 70 years of age and stayed in Gurdwara Kartarpur for 18 years. The devotees could see this holy site, but 4-km across the border. The Indian Border Forces have set up a post from where these devotees could see the shrine with the help of a pair of binoculars. After Partition in 1947, Gurdwara Darbar Sahib became the part of Pakistan.

This Gurdwara remained closed for a long time due to sour relations between Pakistan and India. When it was opened after 18 years, millions of Sikhs from India could not get visa to visit the holy site. A few hundred Yatrees are issued visa to visit Pakistan to pay homage to the birth site of Baba Guru Nanak.

Indian envoy in Pakistan visited the Kartarpur border to look for the possibility of opening it. Pakistan Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, in an interview, gave a suggestion that a visa-free corridor should be established to give Sikhs access to Kartarpur Gurdwara. Pakistan and India may reach an agreement in this regard. However, it will take time to build facilities and centres for the Sikh Yatrees. There is also a possibility of Kartarpur and Baba Nanak trade route. While fulfilling the longstanding demand of Sikhs, differences between the two countries must come to an end.</s>Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday laid the foundation stone for a corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur - the final resting place of Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak Dev - to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims.

Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine. It was established by the Sikh Guru in 1522. The first Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built here, where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died. (Live updates)

The Kartarpur Corridor, which will facilitate the visa-free travel of Indian Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, is expected to be completed within six months.

The development comes ahead of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary next year.

Thousands of Sikh devotees from India visit Pakistan every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

India had proposed the corridor to Pakistan around 20 years back. India was represented by Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri at the event. Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also attended the ceremony. Last week, Pakistan and India announced that they would develop the corridor on their respective side of the border to help Indian pilgrims visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. India-Pakistan ties nose-dived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place. The ties between the two countries had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016. Pakistan had invited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who thanked her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi for the invite and said she was unable to travel to Kartarpur Sahib due to prior commitments. The issue of Kartarpur Sahib came into focus after Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu visited Pakistan in August to attend the oath-taking ceremony of his cricketer-turned-politician friend Imran Khan as prime minister of that country.

After his return, Sidhu said that Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had told him that Pakistan may open a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib.

Sidhu has already arrived in Lahore with a group of Indian journalists to attend the ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday.
Personalities from both countries inaugurate a corridor that will enable Sikh pilgrims to travel visa-free between the Indian town of Dera Baba Nanak and the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan.