News Analysis India

Tag: Kartarpur

  • Navjot Singh Sidhu bats for trade, ‘new friendship chapter’ between India & Pakistan as he visits Kartarpur

    By PTI

    LAHORE: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday visited the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan and offered prayers and stressed on “opening of a new friendship chapter” and trade between the two countries, days after India reopened the visa-free Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims.

    The Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in India’s Punjab state.

    The 4 km-long corridor provides visa free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Darbar Sahib.

    Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March last year because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

    The Kartarpur corridor was reopened on Tuesday for pilgrims.

    “In the name of Baba Guru Nanak, a new chapter of friendship between the two countries should begin,” Sidhu told journalists upon his arrival at the Kartarpur Sahib.

    “After the World wars in which millions of people lost their lives, if Europe can open borders on one-visa, has one passport and one currency, why not in this region of ours where we have figures like Bhagat Singh and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh who are revered by everyone?” he asked.

    Sidhu said he wants mutual love between India and Pakistan.

    “There is a need to open windows in the walls erected in 74 years (between India and Pakistan),” he said, stressing on opening of trade between the two countries.

    “There should be trade between two countries,” the cricketer-turned-politician said.

    Sidhu thanked Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan for taking a step to open the corridor.

    “I am thankful to PM (Imran Khan) for taking the first step and on the other side (India) responded with two steps. I had already said that those favouring the ‘laanga’ (corridor) would have blessings and those opposing it had no value,” he said.

    When Kartarpur Corridor Project Management Unit CEO Muhammad Latif welcomed the former Test cricketer at the zero point and extended best wishes to him and his delegation on behalf of the prime minister, Sidhu said: “Imran Khan is my elder brother. I am greatly honoured. He (Khan) gave us a lot of love.”

    Sidhu visited the complex and also offered religious rituals.

    He and his delegation members were offered ‘langar’ (food) made from the wheat and vegetables of the fields, which Guru Nanak Dev used to look after.

    According to Latif, over 300 Indian Sikhs visited the Kartarpur Sahib on Saturday the fourth day of the reopening of the route which was suspended for some 20 months following the Covid.

    Earlier this week, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi along with 37 others, including his Cabinet ministers, and Jagir Kaur, president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), had visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

    Some 2,500 Indian Sikhs who have come to Pakistan via Wagah border on the occasion of the 552 birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev will also visit the Darbar Sahib.

    In November 2019, Prime Minister Khan formally inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor as part of commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak at a colourful ceremony, paving the way for Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit one of their religion’s holiest sites in Pakistan without needing a visa.

  • Punjab CM-led group offers payers at Kartarpur gurdwara

    By PTI

    LAHORE/DER BABA NANAK: Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi along with some of his Cabinet ministers on Thursday offered prayers at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan after travelling through the visa-free Kartarpur corridor that reopened for pilgrims after a gap of 20 months.

    The over four-km long Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.

    Pilgrimage to the gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

    Evacuee Trust Property Board spokesperson Amir Hashmi said in Lahore that besides the group led by Channi, a delegation of BJP leaders also visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

    “Indian Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi along with about 30 persons, including his Cabinet ministers, today visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, by using Kartarpur Corridor,” Hashmi told PTI.

    Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu was not part of the Channi-led ‘jatha’ (group) which went to pay obeisance at the gurdwara.

    Sidhu’s media advisor Surinder Dalla on Wednesday night had said that the Congress leader had been officially intimated that he could go on November 20 instead of November 18.

    Kartarpur Corridor Project Management Unit Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Muhammad Latif, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee office bearers and Commissioner Gujranwala greeted the Indian guests who arrived at the gurdwara.

    The first batch of 28 Indian Sikhs, including women, visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan on Wednesday by using the corridor on the first day of its reopening.

    Latif said that over 100 Indian pilgrims were expected to visit the historic gurdwara on Thursday.

    Channi, who was accompanied by his family members, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla, MLAs Harpartap Singh Ajnala and Barindermeet Singh Pahra, had crossed over to Pakistan at around 1 pm, officials said in Dera Baba Nanak.

    Describing reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor as a historic moment, Channi had said before crossing over that it is a joyous occasion as the corridor has facilitated numerous devotees to go to Kartarpur Sahib.

    “The long-pending ‘ardaas’ of Sikh Sangat has been fulfilled and now they can offer prayers at this holy shrine without any hindrance ,” said Channi.

    Talking to reporters in Gurdaspur district before going to Kartarpur Sahib, Singla said he along with his family was going to offer prayers at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.

    He added that he was going to the Kartarpur Sahib for the second time.

    To a query, Singla said the Centre has given permission for travelling to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to ministers and MLAs in a phased manner.

    Earlier Thursday morning, a 21-member delegation of Punjab BJP leaders had reached the integrated check post at Dera Baba Nanak to cross over to Pakistan .

    Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma told reporters that he was thankful to the prime minister and the home minister for reopening the Kartarpur corridor to allow devotees to offer prayers ahead of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

    Among those who were part of the BJP ‘jatha’ included Harjeet Singh Grewal, Jeevan Gupta, Tikshan Sud, Subhash Sharma and K D Bhandari.

    The Centre had decided to reopen the Kartarpur corridor from Wednesday ahead of Gurpurab, which marks the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, on November 19.

  • Punjab BJP leaders leave for Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur

    By PTI

    DERA BABA NANAK (GURDASPUR): Several BJP leaders of Punjab on Thursday left for Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan through a visa-free corridor for offering prayers at the shrine dedicated to Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.

    The Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district. “A BJP delegation is going to pay obeisance at the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara,” Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma told reporters before moving towards the integrated check post.

    ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਨਾਨਕ ਪ੍ਰਗਟਿਆ ਮਿਟੀ ਧੁੰਧ ਜਗ ਚਾਨਣ ਹੋਆ॥ਕੱਲ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ ਜੀ ਦੇ 552ਵੇਂ ਗੁਰ ਪੁਰਬ ਦੇ ਪਾਵਨ ਅਵਸਰ ‘ਤੇ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਵਿਖੇ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਸੁਭਾਗ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਹੋ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ।ਸੱਚੇ ਪਾਤਸ਼ਾਹ ਦੇ ਚਰਨਾਂ ‘ਚ ਸਾਥੀਆਂ ਸਮੇਤ ਨਤਮਸਤਕ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦੇ ਭਲੇ ਦੀ ਅਰਦਾਸ ਕਰਾਂਗੇ।@ZeePunjabHH #KartarpurCorridor pic.twitter.com/wUyICrdGad
    — Ashwani Sharma (@AshwaniSBJP) November 17, 2021
    Sharma, who was sporting a turban, said that they were thankful to the prime minister and the home minister for reopening the Kartarpur corridor to allow devotees to offer prayers ahead of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

    Among party leaders who were part of the BJP ‘jatha’ (delegation) included Jeevan Gupta, Subhash Sharma and KD Bhandari. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and ministers will also visit the shrine on Thursday.

    Twenty-eight devotees on Wednesday had visited the gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor. Security men were deployed in strength in and around Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur on Thursday.

    The Centre reopened the Kartarpur corridor from Wednesday ahead of Gurpurab, which marks the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, on November 19. Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

  • 100 out of 815 Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan test COVID positive upon return to India

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: At least 100 Sikh pilgrims among 815 who went to Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi have tested positive on their return on Thursday.

    The Sikh devotees had gone to Lahore’s Gurdwara Panja Sahib on the last day of Baisakhi. Besides visiting Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal on April 14, they visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur on April 19 and other places.

    Sources said that pilgrims underwent the mandatory Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) soon after they reached the Joint Check Post situated on Attar-Wagah border. 

    There were reports that many of these pilgrims will be asked to undergo the more dependable RT-PCR test.

    “Initially, only those who tested negative were allowed to leave for home while others who tested positive are under observation,’’ said an official.

    There were also some unruly scenes as some of the pilgrims confronted health staff after their reports came positive, snatching official records, tearing the test reports.

    They claimed that their reports were negative when they left for Pakistan. 

    “The devotees were asked to quarantine themselves at their homes as at present, there is no special institution is operational at the government level to quarantine such patients,’’ an official said.

    Later, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Bibi Jagir Kaur said that those Sikh pilgrims needing hospitalisation one will be treated free of cost at an SGPC-run hospital. 

    The SGPC had sponsored the pilgrimage. Under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, a large number of pilgrims from India are allowed to visit the neighbouring country to attend religious festivals every year.

    Despite the pendemic causing havoc, many went over this year.

  • Kartarpur corridor: A timeline

    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.