Pak’s 2nd u-turn: USD 20 fee even on opening day of Kartarpur corridor

PTI, Nov 8, 2019, 4:42 PM IST

New Delhi: Pakistan has conveyed to India that people travelling through the Kartarpur corridor on Saturday will also have to pay the USD 20 fee, sources said Friday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan last week announced that no fee would be charged from the pilgrims on the opening day of the corridor and on Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary.

The Kartarpur Corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just four kilometres from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Notwithstanding a chill in bilateral ties over Kashmir, Pakistan and India after tough negotiations earlier signed an agreement, paving the way for the inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9, ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev on November 12.

The agreement will allow 5,000 Indian pilgrims daily to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib where Guru Nanak spent last 18 years of his life. Each visitor would be required to pay USD 20 as fee, though India has requested Pakistan not to charge the Indian pilgrims.