India, Pakistan renew Kartarpur Corridor agreement until 2029

The announcement has come a week after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Pakistan for the SCO meet. India has urged Pakistan to waive the $20 service charge levied on pilgrims.

India and Pakistan agreed to renew their agreement to operate the Kartarpur Corridor to facilitate pilgrims from India to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara for another five years on Tuesday.

The renewal of the project, originally proposed during the tenure of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as a Confidence Building Measure, has weathered the sharp downturn in relations between India and Pakistan.

“The Agreement, signed on 24 October 2019 to facilitate the visit of pilgrims from India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, was valid for a period of five years,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement issued on Tuesday, adding that the extension until 2029 would ensure “uninterrupted operation of the Corridor for use by the pilgrims from India to visit the holy Gurdwara in Pakistan”.

The announcement of the renewal comes a week after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet, the first such visit by a Foreign Minister in nine years, and met briefly with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Sharing the news of the agreement’s renewal on social media, Mr. Jaishankar said that the Narendra Modi government will “continue to facilitate our Sikh community’s access to their holy sites”.

Although the successful conclusion of the talks over the renewal indicates that the channels of communication between the two countries are operational, New Delhi was unable to convince Pakistan to drop the service fee of $20 (approximately ₹1,680) that it levies per pilgrim.

“In view of the continued requests of pilgrims regarding the removal of $20 service charge levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per visit, India has once again urged Pakistan to not levy any fee or charges on the pilgrims,” said the statement. 

Pakistan has maintained that it needs to levy the charges as it has spent the bulk of the estimated $17 million cost of refurbishing the Gurudwara, where Sikh founder Guru Nanak spent his last days, building a road and bridge, and providing transport for the pilgrims to travel by from the border with India.

Officials in Pakistan told The Hindu that they are disappointed by the dwindling numbers of pilgrims being “allowed” to visit, as the quota given by Pakistan is for 5,000 pilgrims daily, but the numbers are down to only a few hundred a day at present. 

Published - October 22, 2024 10:58 pm IST