On the second anniversary of the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor between India and Pakistan, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday visited Darshan Asthan along zero line in Gurdaspur district for darshan (glimpse) of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib across the border and urged the Centre to reopen it.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan is just 4km from zero line on the Indo-Pak border and is the last resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak. To provide Indian pilgrims visa-free access to the gurdwara, the corridor was opened on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak two years ago. However, it was closed when the Covid-19 pandemic surfaced early last year. Though Pakistan has reopened the corridor after the situation eased, the suspension from the Indian side persists.
After looking at the historic gurdwara through binoculars, Sidhu offered ardas (prayer) and said, “I prayed to Baba Nanak to reopen the corridor. I seek his blessings again, because due to his power, the corridor was opened.”
He said 75% of people coming to Darshan Asthan don’t have passports. “Every day, about 5,000 followers pay obeisance here. A year and a half ago, Land Port Authority of India had promised to build a raised platform, Darshan Asthan, (100m wide and 60m high) to facilitate the sangat (community) to have darshan of Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara. It is my request to the home minister of India to give the platform to the sangat.”
“I’ll write to the Centre and if there is any problem, they can tell the state government. I guarantee you that Punjab government will work towards this on priority. There should be four to five binoculars. We want that the corridor to stay open. If in case, it has to remain closed for any reason, the Darshan Asthan should be available for everyone for having ‘khule darshan didar’ of the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara,” he said.
The cricketer-turned-politician stirred a row by hugging Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, during the oath-taking ceremony of the neighbouring country’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, in 2018. He made headlines by disclosing that Bajwa had assured him that the Pakistan government is planning to open the corridor, a long-pending demand of Sikhs in India. During the inaugural ceremony of the corridor, Sidhu was invited as a special guest of Khan.