Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan and India may not be able to face each other in cricket in a bilateral series due to the political turmoil between the Asian neighbours, but no one can stop them from fighting it out in kabaddi. Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) secretary general Rana Sarwar has announced that Pakistan and India will face each other in a three-match kabaddi series in November this year. Sarwar said that the No-Objection Certificate for the event has been received and the event will take place in Kartarpur. He further said that the series was supposed to take place in May this year, but due to the deteriorating Covid-19 situation in both Pakistan and India, the series has been pushed forward to November. Sarwar was happy to announce that Kartarpur would host the kabaddi series between Pakistan and India for the first time. “The PKF plans to organise a spectacular event,” he added. Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free crossing, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to the border with India. The 4.1-kilometre corridor that links the Dera Baba Nana shrine in India’s Gurdaspur with the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur was closed shortly after its inauguration in 2019. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, the Indian government completely stopped pilgrims from crossing into Pakistan. However, after more than a year of tough restrictions, India’s Sikh community has finally received the government’s nod to attend upcoming religious festivals in Pakistan. The permission, which is conditional, will allow pilgrims to attend the Vaisakhi and Khalsa commemorations, which are two very important dates in the Sikh calendar.