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.
Modi will inaugurate the integrated check post on the Indian side, Union minister Harsimrat Badal said.
Shah said the decision reflects the Modi government's immense reverence for Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the Sikh community.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Faisal said Pakistan respected all religions and would continue the Kartarpur project to help Sikh pilgrims.
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.
The Indian government has sent Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri to represent India at the event.
India has requested Pakistan not to charge the Indian pilgrims.
Project Director Atif Majid said so far 86 per cent of the work on the corridor has been completed.
The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.
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.
Amarinder Singh described the neighbouring nation's action 'knee-jerk and uncalled for'.
The delegates from both sides will discusses issues, including connectivity at the Zero Point and the number of pilgrims to be allowed.
'Pakistan has stolen from the Indian diplomatic toolbox a potent rope trick -- bypassing the ruling elite in Delhi (and the Indian establishment) to reach out to Indian Sikhs directly and fostering people-to-people contacts,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In the agreement, Pakistan government has also said that information of pilgrims and security clearance by the Indian side will be needed three days prior.
Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted, 'Prime Minister Imran Khan will break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28 November.'
Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.
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.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was not part of the Channi-led 'jatha' (group) which went to pay obeisance at the gurdwara.
Pakistan is scheduled to open the Kartarpur corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims on November 9.
Sidhu had attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan last year.
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.
Amarinder Singh told mediapersons that both Kovind and Modi had accepted the Punjab government's invitation to be part of the historic celebrations and that the modalities of their visits would be chalked out after the Kartarpur Corridor opening programme was finalised with Pakistan.
In another tweet, he congratulated his own government for completing the construction work on time.
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.
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.
'Pakistan has made a business out of faith. How will a poor devotee pay this amount?'
There were three issues on which the Indian side asked Pakistan to show some flexibility.
The meeting lasted for about two hours and a host of issues pertaining to the building of the corridor were discussed, an official said.
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.
Khalistani separatist Chawla, a close aide of terrorist Hafiz Saeed, is part of the committee, which was not acceptable to India.
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.
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 construction of the Dera Baba Nanak-Kartarpur Sahib corridor across the India-Pakistan border has been likened to the fall of the Berlin Wall by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Here's why the corridor is important.
A Foreign Office official told PTI that the eight-member Indian delegation arrived in Lahore at 9.15 am (local time).
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.
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