'Pakistan Accords Highest Primacy To Rights Of Minorities': Islamabad Rejects Claims Of Kartarpur Corridor 'Misuse'

Pakistan's sharp denial comes as it was claimed that its intelligence officials were allegedly making efforts to gather information by contacting the pilgrims going from India.

New Delhi: Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday rejected alleged "misuse" of the Kartarpur Corridor for business meetings, saying the claims "undermine" the nation’s initiative for Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world.

The response comes as Islamabad was accused of misusing the Kartarpur Corridor to build contact with Indians going on the pilgrimage.

In its statement, Pakistan asserted that it accords "the highest primacy to the rights of the minorities. Sanctity of religious places and revered sites of every community is ensured in Pakistan."

Dismissing the claims, the Pakistan MoFA mentioned that the nation hosted over 2,000 Sikh pilgrims from India alone in the Baisakhi celebrations held from April 12 to 21. "Elaborate arrangements were put in place to facilitate the visiting pilgrims to pay homage at their holy religious sites," the statement added.

Islamabad’s sharp denial comes as it was alleged that the Pakistani intelligence officials, present at the route, were making efforts to gather information by contacting the pilgrims going from India.

The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa-free border crossing and religious corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak situated in Gurdaspur District, Punjab.

The crossing allows devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the India–Pakistan border, without a visa.

Notably, Pakistani Sikhs cannot use the border crossing to come to the Indian side without first obtaining an Indian visa or unless they work there.

The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, the then prime ministers of India and Pakistan respectively, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy.

On November 26, 2018, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The corridor was completed for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on November 12, 2019.