Opening of Kartarpur corridor a good initiative: Manmohan Singh

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the opening of Kartarpur Corridor is a "good initiative" by the Union Cabinet.

"It is a good initiative to open the corridor to Kartarpur," Singh told reporters after attending the Pranab Mukherjee Foundation - CRRID seminar.

In a landmark decision taken on the eve of Guru Nanak Gurpurab, the Union Cabinet on November 22 approved the building and development of Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to India-Pakistan International Border.

On Friday, the Pakistan Government decided to open the Kartarpur corridor next year on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while briefing the National Assembly, said the government decided to open the Kartarpur corridor in 2019, an official statement said.

The development of the corridor will facilitate pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi River in Pakistan, where Shri Guru Nanak Devji spent eighteen years. With this infrastructure development, pilgrims would be able to visit the holy shrine throughout the year.