A shrine too far? The road to peace between India and Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistan on Sunday agreed in principle to allow visa-free, year-long travel to the Sikh shrine of Kartarpur Sahib for Indian pilgrims after prolonged bilateral talks – a rare instance of co-operation between two countries which have fought three wars against each other since independence.

“The meeting was very positive and both sides have agreed on over 80 per cent details of proposed [Kartarpur Corridor] agreement,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal told reporters after the meeting. The remaining unresolved issues would be addressed in an upcoming summit, he said.

Throughout the year, 5,000 Sikh pilgrims will be allowed to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara every day – whether as individuals or in groups, the Indian Home Ministry’s Joint Secretary SCL Das told reporters. Pakistan also agreed to maintain a channel of communication to finalise the agreement on the modalities of the cross-border corridor, he said.

Why is Kartarpur Sahib shrine so significant?

The Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur is one of the holiest places in Sikhism. It’s believed to have been built on the site in Pakistan’s Narowal district where Guru Nanak, the founder of the religion, died in the 16th Century. The temple is located around 4km from the border with India, but tensions between the neighbouring countries have meant Sikh pilgrims have often found it difficult to visit or have had to travel hundreds of kilometres to get through. Some have had to be content with viewing it through binoculars from India. The “Kartarpur corridor” will however lead pilgrims from the Indian border straight to the gurdwara, with the sides fenced off.

What is the “Kartarpur Corridor” project?

The corridor – often dubbed as the “Road to Peace” – will connect Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur district. The construction of the corridor will allow visa-free access to pilgrims from India. The proposal for the corridor has been on the table since 1988, but tense relations between the two countries led to the delay. Former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also suggested the corridor when he took a historic bus trip to Lahore in 1999.

Who inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor project?

On November 28, 2018, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation of the long-awaited corridor that had been announced as a peace initiative. Two days before that, on November 26, Indian Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu and the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Punjab, Amarinder Singh, had laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor in India’s Gurdaspur district.

So what’s new with the latest round of talks?

Apart from the agreement on visa-free travel for Sikh pilgrims from India, the latest round of talks between Indian and Pakistani officials also agreed to extend the benefit to Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card holders. Mohammad Faisal, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan, told reporters after the meeting that “an agreement between Pakistan and India has been arrived at over the above modalities. One more meeting is likely to happen.”

India raised the demand to allow 10,000 additional pilgrims to visit the gurdwara on special occasions, and also sought consular presence at the shrine to be able to provide assistance to the pilgrims if required. India also raised its concerns over the security aspect, urging Pakistan to prevent Khalistan supporters from misusing this historic initiative. “Concerns regarding individuals or organisations based in Pakistan who may try to disrupt the pilgrimage and misuse the opportunity to play with the sentiments of the pilgrims was shared,” an Indian foreign ministry statement said.

What’s the status of the project so far?

Around 70 per cent of the work on complex, terminal building and road has been completed. However, during the talks, the Pakistan delegation highlighted the infrastructural constraints on their side and agreed to accommodate many of the Indian proposals in a phased manner. Pending the construction of a bridge over the old Ravi creek by Pakistan on their territory, India offered to make interim arrangements for making the corridor operational by November. India also said that significant progress had been made in building the necessary infrastructure to handle pilgrims from India and abroad, with Indian facilities being able to handle 15,000 pilgrims a day. The details of the proposed agreement were not shared with the media, as Faisal clarified that no country shares details of any until final agreement is reached as per international norms.

Is this the first meeting between India and Pakistan on the issue?

This is the second meeting between the two neighbours to discuss the draft agreement on Kartarpur Corridor after March 14. This meeting coincided with the first informal round of Track II diplomacy talks held in Islamabad over the weekend in which both India and Pakistan emphasised the need for communication to remain open even in times of crises. It was the first such diplomatic backchannel effort since tensions heightened between the two sides in February 2019.

Why are both sides rushing to complete the project?

The corridor is set to be completed by October 31 – a week ahead of grand celebrations of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Both India and Pakistan are therefore eyeing the anniversary as a suitable opportunity to throw open the Road to Peace. According to Faisal, under the directives of Imran Khan, Pakistan is “fully committed to materialising” the Kartarpur Corridor into a reality for the anniversary to facilitate Sikh pilgrims.

Will the project promote peace between the nuclear neighbours?

The project has been welcomed enthusiastically by the Sikh community, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has compared the construction of the corridor to the fall of the Berlin Wall, saying that the project may help in easing tensions between the two countries. Following the meeting on Sunday, the Pakistani delegation planted a “sapling of peace” at Wagah border, terming the initiative as “Corridor of Peace”.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT KARTARPUR  CORRIDOR

• The Kartarpur Corridor is a religious passage that connects Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur district.

• The peace corridor will provide visa-free travel for Sikh pilgrims.

• It is expected to be ready by October 31, on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

• Pakistan’s northeastern Punjab province is home to the some of most revered Sikh pilgrimage sites, but Kartarpur is in Narowal district.

• Situated on the banks of river Ravi, the Gurdwara is important for Sikhs as their first spiritual leader Guru Nanak spent more than 18 years there and died on September 22, 1539.

• For decades, Sikh devotees have been demanding that India and Pakistan collaborate to build a corridor linking it with Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district.