ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced to waive requirement of passport for Sikh and the 10-day advance registration for their pilgrimage to Kartarpur.
“For Sikhs coming for pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off two requirements: i) they won’t need a passport - just a valid ID; ii) they no longer have to register 10 days in advance,” the prime minister said in a tweet.
The prime minister said there would be no $20 fee charged on day of inauguration and on Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birthday.
Imran Khan will formally inaugurate the Kartarpur border crossing on Nov 9, ahead of the 550th birthday. Last year Pakistan and India agreed to open the crossing, which connects the Pakistani city of Narowal to eastern Gurdaspur in India.
Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara situated in Narowal - some 115 kilometers from the provincial capital Lahore - is one of the most revered temple for the Sikh community, as Baba Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life there.
The distance between the temple and Gurdaspur is just 3 km but without a crossing, Sikh pilgrims from India must travel hundreds of kilometres, via Amritsar and Lahore, to reach it.
Pakistan’s Punjab is home to some of the most important pilgrimage sites for Sikhs. They include the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak, who was born in 1469 in the Nankana Sahib district, and Gurdwara (monastery) Punja Sahib in the town of Hasan Abdal, where the handprint of Guru Nanak is believed to be imprinted on a boulder.
