New Delhi (NVI): India on October 21 conveyed that it will be ready to sign the agreement on Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on 23 of this month, while again urging Pakistan to reconsider its insistence to levy service fee on pilgrims, an External Affairs Ministry statement said.
India would be ready to amend the agreement accordingly at any time, the statement added.
While expressing disappointment on levying service fee, the Ministry said, “It is a matter of disappointment that while understanding has been reached on most of the elements for facilitating the visit of pilgrims from India, Pakistan continue to insist on levying a service fee of USD 20 per pilgrim per visit”.
Government has consistently urged Pakistan that in deference to the wishes of the pilgrims, it should not levy such a fee, the statement added.
The Government has taken the initiative to put in place the state of art infrastructure and open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on the auspicious occasion of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji so that the pilgrims from India and those holding Overseas Citizen of India Card can undertake visit to the holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
Notably, the foundation stone was laid for the construction of Dera Baba Nanak — Kartarpur Sahib corridor on the India side on November 2018.
