Amritsar Sahib: Amidst easing tension Officials from India and Pakistan met Thursday amid easing tensions to discuss opening a visa-free border crossing to allow pilgrims to easily visit a Sikh shrine just inside Pakistan.
A Pakistani delegation crossed over to the Indian side of the land border at Wagah-Attari crossing point for the talks. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal headed the Pakistani delegation. The Indian side was led by S.C.L. Das, a joint secretary in Home Ministry.
Instead of visas, it is being planned to give special permits to Sikh yatris to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan’s Narowal border district. The corridor will link Kartarpur Sahib (in West Punjab) with Dera Baba Nanak (in East Punjab). Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib is visible from the eastern side of the border line dividing the region of Punjab into two parts.
According to a joint statement issued after the meeting the talk were held in a in a cordial environment. The two sides agreed to meet again on April 2, the joint statement notes.
“Both sides held detailed and constructive discussions on various aspects and provisions of the proposed agreement and agreed to work toward expeditiously operationalizing the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor,” it said.
⊕ READ FULL JOINT TEXT OF JOINT STATEMENT ISSUED BY INDIA & PAKISTAN AFTER ATTARI MEET
⊕ RECOMMENDED FOR READING: Readers who are interested to know more about various aspects of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor are advised to read following two write-ups in Gurmukhi/Punjabi: