Pak team to visit India next month to discuss modalities on Kartarpur Corridor

A team from Pakistan will visit India next month to discuss and finalise the modalities for facilitating visit of pilgrims through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.

The Ministry of External Affairs Thursday said India has also proposed technical-level discussions between the engineers on both sides without waiting for discussions on the modalities.

"We welcome the visit of #Pakistan team to discuss and finalise modalities for facilitating visit of pilgrims through #Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on 13 March 2019 to India. Follow up meeting can be held in Pakistan, as required.

"For expeditious realisation of #kartarpurcorridor, India has also proposed technical level discussions between engineers on both sides without waiting for discussion on the modalities. We hope #Pakistan would positively respond & confirm coordinates of crossing point as well," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Last month, India shared with Pakistan the coordinates of the crossing point of the proposed Kartarpur corridor which will link Baba Nanak village in Punjab to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Narowal in Pakistan.

Pakistan had said it shared a draft agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor with India and invited New Delhi to urgently send a delegation to Islamabad to negotiate and finalise the proposal.

Both sides are yet to finalise the modalities of travel of the Indian pilgrims to the Gurudwara.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on November 26 last year laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor in Gurdaspur district.

Two days later, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for the corridor at Narowal, 125 km from Lahore.

The decision to build the corridor -- from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to the International Border -- was taken by the Union Cabinet on November 22.

The corridor was a long-pending demand of the Sikh community. Pakistan has committed to open the corridor in November on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.