Shri Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
The Kartarpur Sahib Corridor has been closed till further orders due to increasing tension between India and Pakistan. The government has taken this decision for security reasons. Recently, India conducted 9 terrorist bases in Pakistan -occupied Punjab and its occupied Kashmir
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On the joint recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs, a pilgrim visit to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Narowal district of Pakistan has been banned from the immigration check post located in Dera Baba Nanak, Punjab.
With this step, hundreds of devotees going to visit Kartarpur Sahib daily have faced disappointment. The administration has appealed to the devotees to postpone the plan for the journey till the next order comes and keep an eye on the concerned government portals for any update.
What is Kartarpur Corridor?
The Kartarpur Corridor started in November 2019. It starts from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib located in Narowal district of Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Guru of Sikhs, spent the final year of his life. This corridor offers visa-free travel, so that devotees can visit Gurdwara Sahib only on the basis of registration.
Why the situation deteriorated?
The Indian Army has recently carried out airstrikes on nine terrorist bases located in Pakistan and Pakistan authorized Kashmir under Operation Sindoor. These included the headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. After this, the military movement has increased in air activities and border areas from Pakistan, making India declared high alert.
Security agencies feared that the corridor may be misused by terrorists or Pakistan -backed agents in an atmosphere of stress. In such a situation, this step has been taken as a precaution to avoid any danger.
The journey of devotees will be affected
Government sources say that this decision is not permanent, but the security of the country is in priority. As soon as the situation is normal, the corridor can be reopened. Even before this, the corridor was temporarily closed after the Kovid epidemic and Pulwama attack.
Concern in Sikh community, but also support
The news of the closure of Kartarpur corridor is disappointed among Sikh devotees, but many religious and social organizations have supported the government’s decision, saying that the security of the country is at the top.