Kartarpur Corridor: Next round of talks between Pakistan, India on April 2

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal on Friday confirmed that Pakistan and India will hold another meeting on opening Kartarpur Corridor on April 2, ARY News reported.

The next round of talks will be held in Pakistan’s Wagah border in next month.

Dr Mohammad Faisal, in his latest Twitter message, invited Indian media to Pakistan for coverage of the meeting between Islamabad and New Delhi for Kartarpur Corridor. He added that the Indian journalists could apply to Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to get their visas.

#Pakistan welcomes Indian media for the #KartarpurCorridor meeting at Wagah on 2 April 2019. They may apply to Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi for visas #PakKartarpurSpirit

— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) March 29, 2019

It is pertinent to mention here that India had not issued visas to Pakistani journalists for the coverage of previously held March 14’s Attari meeting for the corridor, the decision which was regretted by the Islamabad.

On March 27, the federal cabinet had constituted a ten-member Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) to facilitate Sikh pilgrims on the Kartarpur crossing.

The corridor will be opened for the Sikh community to travel to the Kartarpur shrine by November this year, said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

Earlier on March 19, a three-hour long meeting of technical experts from Pakistan and India held to finalize the Kartarpur Corridor alignment at Zero point.

During the meeting, the technical experts indicated areas related to the corridor and both sides agreed for border fencing around the Kartarpur corridor, sources said.

“Representatives from both sides will present survey reports of today’s meeting to their respective sides”, the sources said. Both the sides had agreed to meet again on April 2 at Wagah.

Kartarpur crossing

In November last year, Prime Minister Imran had laid the foundation stone for the corridor. Former Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, Indian Minister for Food Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Indian Minister for Housing Hardeep S Puri had attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province holds religious significance for the Sikh community. It is where Baba Guru Nanak settled down after his travels as a missionary. He lived there for 18 years until his death in 1539.