India has urged Pakistan to grant visa-free travel rights to Indian pilgrims visiting the Kartarpur shrine. The proposal was part of the Indian agenda at Thursday’s meeting between delegations from both countries at Attari where the draft agreement for the Kartarpur Corridor was discussed.
“We emphasised that the access be visa-free and the provision apply to Indians as well as people of Indian origin,” S.C.L. Das, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, said at a press briefing.
A joint statement after the meeting said the delegations held detailed and constructive discussions on the proposed agreement and agreed to work towards expeditiously operationalising the pilgrimage corridor.
The Indian delegation also insisted that the Kartarpur shrine be kept open throughout the year. and that access for at least 5,000 pilgrims on any day throughout the week be ensured.
India is also building infrastructure that will enable 10,000 more pilgrims on ‘surge’ days like Baisakhi and other important festivals.
“The talks held today were part of our on-going endeavour to realise this long awaited aspiration of India pilgrims for smooth and easy access to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib,” Mr Das said.
A joint press statement issued after the first meeting, said both sides held detailed and constructive discussions on various aspects and provisions of the proposed agreement and agreed to work towards expeditiously operationalising the pilgrimage corridor.
“Both sides also held expert level discussions between the technical experts on the alignment and other details of the proposed corridor,” said the statement. The Hindu had earlier reported about a ‘mismatch’ between the proposed alignments of Indian and Pakistani plans for the infrastructure.
Sources had earlier informed that India was concerned about the security aspect of the project because of reports of activities by pro-Khalistan elements on the Pakistani side.
The joint press statement added that the two sides had agreed to hold the next meeting at Wagah on April 2, 2019. “This will be preceded by a meeting of the technical experts on March 19, 2019 at the proposed zero points to finalise the alignment,” it said.
The Indian delegation was led by Mr Das while the Pakistani team was led by Director General (SA & SAARC) of Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Faisal.