Misri says Kartarpur Corridor shut 'till further orders' in view of India-Pak standoff

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri Friday (May 9) announced that the Kartarpur Corridor has been shut from India’s side indefinitely in view of Pakistan’s indiscriminate firing across the Line of Control (LoC).

Earlier in the day, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ bureau of immigration announced the closure of the corridor “till further orders”.

The closure has stopped Indian Sikh pilgrims from visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, though Pakistan keeps the corridor open on its side.

On Wednesday morning (May 7), about 150 Sikh pilgrims were turned away at the Dera Baba Nanak check post in Gurdaspur after waiting over 90 minutes.

Ramesh Singh Arora, president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) and a former MLA, appointed as ambassador for the corridor, said, “The corridor is open from our side. It is a conscious decision of our government to continue welcoming the pilgrims.”

“On Tuesday, we received about 200 pilgrims from India and suddenly, the next day, the arrival was zero. When we checked, we were told that India had stopped pilgrims from going to Kartarpur Corridor. Despite the corridor’s close down from India’s side, the Pakistan government has decided to keep it open as a goodwill gesture,” Arora was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

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