SGPC urges Centre to open Kartarpur corridor

Tribune News service

Sultanpur Lodhi, Sept 4

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Kirpal Singh Badungar has urged the Centre to initiate talks with Pakistan to open the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh devotees in 2019, when the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak would be celebrated.

“The move will defuse tension between the two countries and improve their ties. Lakhs of devotees visiting the Dera Baba Nanak shrine feel dejected that they have to pay obeisance from a distance (to the shrine in Pakistan),” he said in a meeting with SGPC officials here today.

“No time can be more favourable than the 550th year of Guru Nanak’s birth celebrations. If not on a permanent basis, the two counties can sign a temporary pact for the historic year,” Badungar said, adding that Sikh devotees and scholars not only from India, but also from abroad were expected to visit the state to commemorate the event.

In May, the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs had ruled out the construction of a corridor linking India with the historical Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.

The SGPC has formed a committee to mark the historic year.