Floodwaters from the Ravi River have inundated the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan, including Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, stranding over 100 people. Rescue operations are underway as thousands are evacuated from flooded areas.
"Pakistani officials told us you are Hindu, you cannot go with a Sikh jatha," said Amar Chand, who was sent back along with six of his family members after they crossed over to the neighbouring nation to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev.
In view of the continued requests of the pilgrims regarding the removal of $20 service charge levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per visit, India has once again urged Pakistan to not levy any fee or charges on the pilgrims, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was not part of the Channi-led 'jatha' (group) which went to pay obeisance at the gurdwara.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan is the final resting place of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanakji.
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All eyes went teary as wheelchair-bound Singh had an emotional meeting with his sister Kulsoom Akhtar at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan's Punjab province on Wednesday.
Why can't the Indian government propose to the Chinese a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? asks Claude Arpi.
The meeting lasted for about two hours and a host of issues pertaining to the building of the corridor were discussed, an official said.
The corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just 4 kilometres from the International Border, located in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Karamjit Anmol, while the BJP has named North West Delhi MP Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot, a reserved parliamentary constituency.
The corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just about 4 km from the international border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
Shah said the decision reflects the Modi government's immense reverence for Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the Sikh community.
The Kartarpur Corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just 4 kilometres from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
There were three issues on which the Indian side asked Pakistan to show some flexibility.
Kartarpur corridor is a 'corridor of love' and there is no sinister design in it, he said on allegations that the corridor could be used to promote separatism in Punjab.
The decision to open Kartarpur shrine was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday due to the approaching death anniversary of Sikhism founder Baba Guru Nanak Dev on September 22.
On Wednesday night, Sidhu's media adviser Surinder Dalla claimed that Sidhu has been officially intimated that he could go on November 20 instead of November 18.
The Indian government has sent Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri to represent India at the event.
On Thursday, both countries announced that they would develop Kartarpur corridor in their respective areas, linking Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district with the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.
The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, along with his ministers, will be part of the first 'jatha' (group), which will visit the Kartarpur Sahib on Thursday, officials said.
Modi flagged off the first batch of pilgrims led by Akal Takhat Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through the corridor, which was thrown open days ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November 12.
Sidhu said he had been invited by the Pakistan government for the opening ceremony of the corridor, which will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in Punjab.
In another tweet, he congratulated his own government for completing the construction work on time.
India has requested Pakistan not to charge the Indian pilgrims.
Sidhu visited the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib and offered prayers and stressed on 'opening of a new friendship chapter' and trade between the two countries, days after India early this week reopened the visa-free Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims.
According to the "do's and don'ts" issued by the ministry of home affairs, children below 13 years and elderly persons of about 75 years and above will have to travel in groups. Eco-friendly material, preferably cloth bags, should be used during the pilgrimage and the surroundings should be kept clean.
The visit will be followed by the return visit of the Indian delegation to Islamabad on March 28.
'A narrative is needed that captures the reality in Pakistan objectively and more fully'
Faisal said Pakistan respected all religions and would continue the Kartarpur project to help Sikh pilgrims.
Pakistan will allow 5,000 Indian pilgrims to visit the gurdwara every day using the planned corridor, and the numbers could be more on special occasions.
Sidhu had attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan last year.
'Pakistan has made a business out of faith. How will a poor devotee pay this amount?'
The delegates from both sides will discusses issues, including connectivity at the Zero Point and the number of pilgrims to be allowed.
So far, almost every positive development in terms of the bilateral ties has been overtaken by innate hostility that is often driven by popular sentiments.
In a letter to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Singh said it is a historic occasion, but regretted his inability to be present.
Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted, 'Prime Minister Imran Khan will break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28 November.'
India's assessment is that the Kartarpur project was being implemented with alacrity and military zeal under the supervision of the Pakistan army as it has the strategic objective to use the corridor to encourage separatism in Punjab, say government sources.
Pakistan is scheduled to open the Kartarpur corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims on November 9.
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