India and Pakistan have agreed to extend the validity of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor agreement for another five years, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced on Tuesday. This agreement, first signed on 24 October 2019, allows Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, without the need for a visa, through a special corridor that connects the shrine to Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab, India.
The extension ensures that pilgrims from India will continue to have uninterrupted access to the holy site, which holds great significance for Sikhs as the place where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, spent the last 18 years of his life.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs emphasized the importance of the extension: "The extension of the validity of this agreement will ensure uninterrupted operation of the corridor for use by pilgrims from India to visit the holy Gurdwara in Pakistan."
The ministry also reiterated its appeal to Pakistan to remove the USD 20 service charge that is currently levied on each pilgrim. "India has once again urged Pakistan not to levy any fee or charges on the pilgrims," the statement said.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share the news, stating: "India and Pakistan have renewed the agreement on the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for the next five years. PM Narendra Modi’s government will continue to facilitate our Sikh community’s access to their holy sites."
Kartarpur Sahib, located in Pakistan’s Narowal district near the Ravi River, is about four kilometres from India’s Dera Baba Nanak shrine. Since the corridor became operational, thousands of Indian pilgrims have visited the site. In July 2022, the Indian government reported that 1,10,670 Indian nationals and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders had used the corridor to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.
The corridor remains a symbol of religious and cultural diplomacy, enabling the Sikh community to access one of their most revered sites despite the political tensions between India and Pakistan.