Kartarpur Corridor Pact Extended: Less than a week after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Islamabad and met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, India and Pakistan agreed on Tuesday to extend their pact on the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for another five years, which was set to expire on October 24.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that both nations have agreed, through diplomatic channels, to extend the agreement facilitating Indian pilgrims’ access to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan for another five years. The agreement, initially signed on October 24, 2019, ensures that Indian Sikh pilgrims can visit this important religious site via the Kartarpur Corridor without a visa.

The MEA also emphasized that the extension guarantees uninterrupted access for Indian pilgrims to the holy site in Pakistan. Additionally, India reiterated its request for Pakistan to waive the US$ 20 service charge per pilgrim.

The Kartarpur Corridor, a 4-kilometer stretch that allows Indian pilgrims to visit the gurdwara, was initially opened in November 2019 but faced temporary closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, before reopening.

This development followed Jaishankar’s visit to Pakistan on October 15-16 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, marking the first visit by an Indian Foreign Minister to Pakistan since Sushma Swaraj in 2015. Jaishankar and Dar spoke twice during the visit, sparking speculation about a potential resumption of cricketing ties between the two nations. However, the MEA clarified that no formal meetings or discussions on cricket took place.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif praised Jaishankar’s visit, calling it a positive step and suggesting both nations “bury the past” and focus on the future.