Kartarpur corridor: India, Pak hold technical talks, discuss coordinates

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Dera Baba Nanak, March 19

A marathon seven-hour ‘technical meeting’ between Indian and Pakistani officials was held in No-Man’s land, 50 metres from the wire fence, regarding issues pertaining to the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

There was a veil of secrecy. Media personnel and devotees, who had come to view the shrine through binoculars installed by the BSF, were asked to deposit their cellphones with the cops.

Twenty officials from Pakistan arrived at 10 am at a makeshift tent. They came in six vehicles as more than 50 Rangers stood guard. The Indian Government had cleared the names of 14 officials from the Land Ports Authority of India,  NHAI, BSF and the Punjab Government. Sources said among the issues discussed was the exact location of Zero Point at which roads from the Pakistan side and the Indian side will meet. 

The construction of the ICP on the Indian side and alignment of gates were discussed too.  Before the talks, two JCB machines were pressed into service to flatten the wheat fields0 to make way for the proposed ICP. Another round of talks will be held on April 2 on the Pakistani side.