Asia

Pakistan to Open Yet Another Religious Corridor for Indian Sikh Pilgrims

Sharda Peeth, located about 25 km from the Line of Control (de-facto Indo-Pak border), is a 5,000-year-old temple dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Sharda. Historians claim it was established in 237 BC.
Sputnik

New Delhi (Sputnik): Months after agreeing to open a dedicated corridor to aid Sikh pilgrims from India to reach the Kartarpur Gurudwara in Narowal, Pakistan is set to open another religious corridor for Indian pilgrims to visit Sharda Peeth, a Hindu pilgrimage site in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to Pakistani media reports

A formal announcement of the decision taken on Monday will be made in coming days, sources told the outlet.

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"Pakistan has decided to open the Sharda temple. I am going to visit the place in a couple of days. I will also send a report in this regard to Prime Minister Imran Khan. Work on the project will start from the current year after which Hindus in Pakistan will also be able to visit the site," Dr. Ramesh Kumar, member of Pakistan's National Assembly (MNA) told the Express-News.

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The initial proposal for the corridor was made by India's Ministry of External Affairs after Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister of India-administered Kashmir, urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open the Sharda Peeth corridor in December 2018.

"India had made this request several times as part of the Composite Dialogue between India and Pakistan. The proposal was made keeping in mind the wishes and the religious sentiments of the people, "a source IN the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Sputnik.

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Meanwhile, India and Pakistan are working on expediting the construction of the Kartarpur corridor under the Indo-Pak people-to-people exchange project that aims to enable Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.

The site is located in Kartarpur in Pakistan, at a distance of 3 kilometres from the international border. The two sides have agreed to complete the project by end of this year despite the escalation in cross-border tensions on account of the mid-February Pulwama terror attacks carried out in India by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group. 

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