India and Pakistan on Thursday signed an agreement on Kartarpur Corridor at Zero Line, which will pave the way for inauguration next month ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism — Guru Nanak Dev.
The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary in the ministry of home affairs SCL Das and Foreign Service official Mohammad Faisal from Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the corridor on November 9 and dispatch the first set of pilgrims to Kartapur sahib gurudwara in Pakistan’s province.
On Monday, the foreign ministry had announced that it was ready to sign the agreement on October 23. However, it was rescheduled for Thursday.
This agreement was finalized after three rounds of negotiations.
The last sticking point was the $20 service fee that Pakistan would charge from every pilgrim for a single trip. However, India agreed to it.
On any day up to 5,000 Sikh pilgrims from India would use the corridor while on special occasions greater numbers would be accepted depending on capacity. (UNI)
