Daily Times

Despite hostilities stemming from India’s actions in held Kashmir, both India and Pakistan remain committed to making Kartarpur Corridor a reality. The third round of talks, on Wednesday, was positive though a few concerns still need to be ironed out. No doubt they would be addressed in subsequent exchanges. The corridor, set for opening in November, is 90 percent complete in Pakistan, while India is also sticking to the looming deadline. By all means, November will be the month of the launch, and 5,000 Sikhs will finally gain visa-free access to their sacred temple. A draft agreement for the operationalisation of the corridor will be signed once the issue of service charges is sorted out. Pakistan has put in a lot of investment to ensure smooth and easy access to Gurdwara Kartapur Sahib and it is justified in charging a nominal fee for the services it will have to render to an expected 5,000 visitors every day, and an additional 5,000 on special religious occasions like Baisakhi, and the birth anniversary of the founder Sikhism, Baba Guru Nanak. Moreover, Pakistan has turned down India’s request to allow consular officials to accompany the pilgrims. That would mar the spirit of religious connections. Both sides will have to show maturity and flexibility to sort out points still stalling the agreement.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Faisal, who headed the Pakistani delegation at the Attari talks, was upbeat about the signing of the draft. “We have shown a lot of flexibility. We are hopeful that if a little flexibility comes from India, the work will get done,” he said. The last meeting, held on July 14 at Wagah, saw promising developments on technical terms of the draft. The corridor initiative, much appreciated by peace-loving circles across the border and the Sikh communities in Pakistan, India and elsewhere, was proposed by Pakistan. Initially, the Indian side showed lukewarm response to the soft-border proposal, but later accepted it seeing the overwhelming demand from Sikhs across the world. Hopefully, the corridor will pass the coming test too. *