NEW DELHI, 09 November 2021, (TON): As the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak approaches, thousands of Sikh pilgrims await the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor by the Indian government.

The corridor was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 9, 2018, allowing visa-free access to pilgrims from India to visit their holy shrine.

The establishment of the corridor reflected Islamabad’s commitment to facilitating the community and it is in line with the government’s efforts to promote religious tourism.

The founder of the Sikh religion Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji is believed to have spent the last 18 years of his life at Kartarpur. The temple is considered to be the most sacred shrine of the Sikh religion.

Since 1947, the Sikh community of India and across the world was desirous of access to the temple it is just about four to five kilometres from the border. The corridor functions under an MoU under which 5,000 pilgrims are allowed Pakistan to enter from the Indian side on a daily basis.

Recently sworn-in Indian Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, in a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asked him to immediately reopen the corridor.

A senior Indian journalist Parmjeet Singh said on Twitter “Government of India opens India for foreigners. Tourist visas from October 15 but Kartarpur Corridor remains closed from Indian side despite being already opened from Pakistan side and repeated calls for reopening by Sikh community from Punjab and India.”