India, Pak to hold technical talks on Kartarpur corridor on Sep 4

India and Pakistan will hold another technical meeting to finalise the remaining modalities of Kartarpur corridor in the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border on Wednesday (September 4), sources from Pakistan told ANI.

During the second meeting, which took place on July 14, the two sides agreed to complete the construction of the 4.19 kilometres long four-lane highway connecting the zero point of the Kartarpur corridor to Gurdaspur-Amritsar Highway by September 30, while the Passenger Terminal Complex at Dera Baba Nanak will be completed by October 31, Ministry of Home Affairs had said in a statement.

Built with a budget of Rs 500 crore on a 15 acre land, the Passenger Terminal Complex have all public amenities to enable smooth passage of approximately 5,000 pilgrims per day.

SCL Das, Joint Secretary, Internal Security, in India's Ministry of Home Affairs, who led the Indian delegation during the second Joint Secretary-level talks with their Pakistani counterparts in Wagah, said, "Both sides have agreed to maintain a channel of communication and work towards finalisation on the agreement of modalities. If required, our delegations could meet in India to formally concluding the agreement."

"We have been able to narrow down the differences since the first meeting held on March 14, 2019. Our technical teams will meet further to ensure seamless connectivity. Details will be further worked out," Das added.

The Kartarpur corridor along the India-Pakistan border is three kilometres away from Gurdaspur in Punjab, India. Once opened, this corridor will allow Sikh pilgrims direct access to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev passed away in 1539.

Last month, Pakistani authorities decided to start the process of issuance of visas to Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world to attend the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak in Nankana Sahib, on September 1.

Last week, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the opening of Kartarpur corridor will remain on track irrespective of Pakistan's ties with India over the Kashmir crisis, rejecting rumours that Pakistan had stalled the work on the corridor after the country's relations with its neighbour strained in the aftermath of India's decision to change the constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir.

The historic corridor will be inaugurated in November this year, she said.