Pakistan facilitating Sikh pilgrims, says FM Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday Pakistan has taken maximum steps to facilitate Sikh Yatrees who will arrive in Kartarpur to participate in celebrations of the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.

Talking to media in Multan this afternoon, he said 15,000 Sikh Yatrees will arrive in Pakistan to attend Baba Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary.

He said former Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh has accepted Pakistan’s invitation to attend the Kartarpur opening and the birth anniversary celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak.

FM Qureshi said Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to resolve all outstanding issues between Saudi Arabia and Iran through negotiations. He added Pakistan believes in peaceful neighborhood.

Condemning the bomb blasts in a mosque in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, the foreign minister said Pakistan offers deepest sympathies and condolences over the loss of precious lives in the incident.

Earlier, on Oct 14, Pakistan had handed over a final draft agreement for the Kartarpur Corridor to India.

As per details, the final draft agreement was received at the Indian High Commission on Friday, in which Islamabad has kept a service fee of $20 for Sikh pilgrims visiting the Corridor from the Indian side, unchanged.

According to the draft, as many as 5,000 Sikh pilgrims can visit Kartarpur, daily and Pakistan will consider the possibility of allowing more pilgrims on special occasions.

India would provide details of the pilgrims 10 days before their planned visit to the gurdwara built at the site where Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, spent his final days.

The names of the pilgrims would be cleared four days before the date of visit and transport will be provided at zero point on the border.