Kartarpur Corridior: Online Registration To Begin Today; Pakistan Adamant On USD 20 Service Charge

On Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to withdraw the service fee imposed by his government on pilgrims visiting the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara.

A view of the shrine of Sikh leader Guru Nanak Dev in Kartarpur, Pakistan. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: The online registration for the much-awaited Kartarpur pilgrimage will begin on Sunday, even as the issue of USD 20 service charge introduced by Pakistan remains unsolved. On Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh appealed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to withdraw the service fee imposed by his government on pilgrims visiting the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara. "I appeal to @ImranKhanPTI to withdraw $20 fee imposed by @PakGovernment on pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib to facilitate 'khulle darshan deedar' of the final resting place of Guru Nanak Ji Sahib. The world Sikh community will be grateful for this gesture on the part of Islamabad," Amarinder said in tweet.

I appeal to @ImranKhanPTI to withdraw $20 fee imposed by @pid_gov on pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib to faciliate ‘khulle darshan deedar’ of the final resting place of SRI Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The world Sikh community will be grateful to you for this gesture.

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) October 18, 2019

In a statement later, Singh pointed out that a pilgrimage to the historic gurdwara, which was revered the world over as the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, was the fulfilment of a cherished dream for the entire Sikh community. Inauguration: Pakistan will formally inaugurate the Kartarpur corridor on November 9, the country's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday. He also said that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Pakistan as a 'yatri' and not as chief guest for the corridor's opening. "Pakistan will open the Kartarpur corridor on November 9. I had invited former PM of India Manmohan Singh. I'm thankful to him, he wrote me a letter and said, 'I'll come but not as chief guest but an ordinary man.' We'll welcome him even if he comes as an ordinary man," Qureshi told reporters here. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the corridor, connecting the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur with Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan on November 8. On October 3, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh ruled out a visit to Pakistan for the Kartarpur corridor opening, making it clear that he would be only leading the first all-party 'jatha' to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara to pay obeisance (inputs from agencies)