Pakistan, India sign deal on visa-free corridor for Sikh pilgrims.

LAHORE -- Pakistan and India signed the agreement on Kartarpur Corridor on Thursday, paving the way for its inauguration next month ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev. The historic corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Indian Punjab with Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, just about four km from the Zero Line. It is the place where, according to the Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life. Dr Mohammad Faisal, director general (South Asia and SAARC) at the Foreign Office, and Indian Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary SCL Das signed the agreement at the Pakistan-India border in Narowal. After the signing ceremony, Dr Faisal said that as per the initiative of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the agreement has been signed while a formal inauguration of the project will be held on November 9. The ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Imran and will feature former Indian premier Manmohan Singh as the chief guest. '[They] were very very difficult and tough negotiations,' he said while talking about the several rounds of dialogues between the two sides over the project.

'Under the agreement, the corridor will remain open seven days a week from dawn to dusk,' he said, adding that the pilgrims [through the corridor] would arrive in the day and leave by evening. The FO spokesperson said that the project will facilitate 5,000 pilgrims a day. 'It is the biggest gurdwara in the world. This is how we treat minorities in the country, this is our approach towards minorities. It is in line with the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH),' he said. He said that the first group of pilgrims will come on November 9. Sharing further details of the agreement, he said the pilgrims who come through the corridor will not require a...