ISLAMABAD: It is considering a proposal to allow pilgrims from Pakistan and India to enter the Kartarpur corridor without a passport for the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. Pakistan's Home Minister Ejaz Shah gave this information to the country's Parliament. In November last year, Pakistan and India inaugurated the historic corridor from its borders. The corridor provides the shortest route for Indian Sikh pilgrims to the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in the Kartarpur area of Narowal district in Pakistan, where Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life.

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According to media reports, Minister Shah told the National Assembly during Question Hour on Friday, February 7, 2020, that at present, passport-free entry of Indian pilgrims was not allowed in the Kartarpur Corridor, which was part of an MoU between Pakistan and India. As to where, he said, the proposal to give entry without a passport to attract more visitors was under consideration, for which detailed input can be sought from the Ministry of External Affairs. He said that under this process, Indian devotees can roam the corridor from morning to evening. For this, they should have an Indian passport. On being a foreign citizen of Indian origin, it is mandatory to have an Overseas Citizen Card and a passport in the country where you are residing. However, there is no provision of visa for Indian citizens coming to the corridor.

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Upon investigation, it has been found that the people who come to the Gurudwara will have to be confined there, they will have to avoid the path going towards the Pakistani. He said that all activities in and around the corridor are monitored through surveillance cameras. The details of issuing national identity cards to foreigners were also presented in the House. The Ministry of Interior said that during 2009-2012, 1,637 foreigners were issued national identity cards, while 474 were issued cards from 2013 to 2018.

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