Amarinder writes to Sushma on Kartarpur Sahib

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to take up with the Pakistan government the issue of opening the corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur Sahib.

In a letter to Swaraj, the chief minister said Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province was one of the most-revered religious places for Sikhs as Guru Nanak spent a large part of his life there, an official statement said Friday.

Pointing out that the gurdwara lies around four km westwards from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district, he said the state government had, time and again, requested the Centre to take up the issue with the neighbouring country on the opening a corridor from the international border to Kartarpur Sahib.

Referring to the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in November, the chief minister apprised Swaraj that the Punjab assembly had passed a unanimous resolution on August 27, seeking uninterrupted opening of the corridor.

It may be recalled that Amarinder had requested Swaraj in August to take up the matter.