India agrees to sign Kartarpur agreement with Pakistan: sources

ISLAMABAD: The Indian government on Monday accepted the draft of Pakistan on the Kartarpur corridor and announced that it would sign an agreement with Islamabad on October 23, ARY News reported.

According to diplomatic sources, India has agreed to sign the Kartarpur corridor agreement with Pakistan on October 23, three weeks ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Sahib.

Pakistan had maintained 20 US dollars fee for every pilgrim which has been accepted by the Indian government, said diplomatic sources.

The focal persons of both countries will sign the Kartarpur corridor agreement on October 23, sources added.

Talking to ARY News, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has expressed pleasure over India’s decision for signing the Kartarpur agreement and congratulated the Sikh community.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday announced that Pakistan is all set to open its doors for the Sikh community from across the globe.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, he said construction work on the Kartarpur project has entered the final stage and will be open to the public on November 9.

The prime minister said the world’s largest Gurdwara will be visited by Sikhs from across India and other parts of the world.

On Monday, Pakistan had handed over the final draft agreement for the Kartarpur Corridor to India.

In the final draft agreement, Islamabad had kept a service fee of $20 for Sikh pilgrims visiting the Corridor from the Indian side, unchanged. As many as 5,000 Sikh pilgrims can visit Kartarpur daily and Pakistan will consider the possibility of allowing more pilgrims on special occasions.