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.
On August 5, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a strange note to the foreign secretary. It is worth mentioning because it was symptomatic of the lack of knowledge about Western Tibet in India and in South Block in particular, notes Claude Arpi.
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.
'Modi is such a Prime Minister who always thinks about Sikhs. All the pending issues of Sikhs, which have not been resolved to date, are being resolved, including the Kartarpur Sahib corridor. There should not be such protests against him, and no Sikh can tolerate this'
The driver of the SUV that fatally struck Fauja Singh, the world's oldest marathoner, has been arrested. Amritpal Singh Dhillon, 26, was apprehended and his vehicle seized. The incident occurred on the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway in Punjab's Jalandhar district.
The Indian government has revoked 14 categories of visas for Pakistani nationals, including business, conference, visitor, and pilgrim visas, following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The decision was made after a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting, and the Home Minister has instructed state governments to ensure that all Pakistani nationals leave India by the set deadlines. The order does not apply to Long Term Visas (LTVs) and diplomatic and official visas issued to Pakistani nationals.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said on Friday that the ceasefire with India was holding and the country is committed to it. He also said that Pakistan is committed to making the ceasefire hold and de-escalation succeed, and then engagement to lead to stability and resolution of issues. Khan said that the two militaries have a channel of communication through the Directors General of Military Operations, through which they are working for de-escalation, in terms of the movement of troops. He added that Pakistan remains committed to the ceasefire announced on May 10 and lately, both sides have taken steps for de-escalation and return of stability.
Security agencies have identified 11 Indians who spied for Pakistan. Look at what they did for a living.
The revelation may have come late in the century but the Congress disclosed on Thursday, May 29, 2025, that the Indian Army conducted six surgical strikes against Pakistan during UPA-2, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government's second term in power.
Modi brought up the emotive issue of the gurdwara in Kartarpur Sahib, a place sacred to Sikhs as Guru Nanak Dev spent the last years of his life there, and blamed the Congress for country's partition, saying they did it for sake of power.
India has strongly condemned Pakistan's recent drone attacks on Indian cities and civilian infrastructure, calling it a "deranged fantasy" and a desperate attempt to deceive the world. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also accused Pakistan of attacking religious sites, including a gurdwara in Amritsar, in an attempt to give a communal color to the situation. Misri criticized Pakistan's "blatantly farcical denial" of the attacks and said the country is resorting to disinformation tactics.
India signed the Kartarpur corridor agreement with Pakistan on October 24, 2019. Under the pact, Indian pilgrims of all faiths are allowed to undertake round-the-year visa-free travel through the Kartarpur corridor to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib, one of the most revered shrines of Sikhs, in Pakistan.
Shah said the decision reflects the Modi government's immense reverence for Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the Sikh community.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was not part of the Channi-led 'jatha' (group) which went to pay obeisance at the gurdwara.
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.
The ministry of external affairs said India received representations from the Sikh community expressing grave concern over the decision to transfer the management and maintenance of the gurudwara from the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee to the administrative control of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, a non-Sikh body.
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.
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 government has also suspended movement of all types of passengers through international border points with Pakistan from 00:00 hours of March 16 in view of the threat from coronavirus.
In another tweet, he congratulated his own government for completing the construction work on time.
Modi will inaugurate the integrated check post on the Indian side, Union minister Harsimrat Badal said.
'Pakistan has made a business out of faith. How will a poor devotee pay this amount?'
Faisal said Pakistan respected all religions and would continue the Kartarpur project to help Sikh pilgrims.
Pakistan is scheduled to open the Kartarpur corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims on November 9.
There were three issues on which the Indian side asked Pakistan to show some flexibility.
The Indian government has sent Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri to represent India at the event.
The meeting lasted for about two hours and a host of issues pertaining to the building of the corridor were discussed, an official said.
India has conveyed to Pakistan that the damage to the structures in the gurudwara has caused "great consternation" among the Sikh community, they said.
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.
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.
The Kartarpur corridor was an excellent opportunity for the Congress to seize centre-stage in Sikh religious affairs. After all, the Akalis never achieved this in their years in power, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
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.
Several Indian intelligence agencies and experts have questioned Pakistan's intentions of opening the route.
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.
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.
In a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Sidhu said that he had been invited by the Pakistan government for opening ceremony of Kartarpur Sahib corridor on November 9.
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 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.
Sidhu had attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan last year.
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