The signing of the agreement removes a key legal hurdle for the opening of the Kartarpur corridor
A number of "dos and don'ts" have been issued by the Home Ministry for pilgrims who wish to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur soon after the two countries signed an agreement today.
A maximum of Rs 11,000 and a 7 kg bag is all that a pilgrim will be allowed to carry to the gurdwara. Pilgrims will also have to travel in the morning and return the same day and will not be allowed to venture beyond the shrine, the Ministry of Home Affairs said today in a press release.
Elderly people, who are 75-years-old and above and children below 13 years will have to travel in groups. The Home Ministry also directed that eco-friendly material like cloth bags should be used during the pilgrimage.
India will send the list of pilgrims to Pakistan 10 days ahead of the travel date and confirmation will be sent to pilgrims four days before date of travel, the Home Ministry said in a release.
WiFi and broadband devices, flags and banners challenging territorial integrity of India or Pakistan, liquor and a host of other items have been put in the prohibited list for. The prohibited items for pilgrims travelling through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on either way include firearms and ammunition, explosives, narcotic and psychotropic substances, and knives except all types of kirpans, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Smoking and drinking is not allowed inside the passenger terminal building (PTB) complex at the Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur. Playing loud music and photographing others without permission is also not allowed.
Indian officials today met Pakistan officials at Zero Point near near Dera Baba Nanak in the border town of Gurdaspur to ink the memorandum of understanding.
The signing of the agreement removes a key legal hurdle for the opening of the corridor.
The corridor will be open from dawn to dusk and will be open throughout the year, except on notified days which will be informed in advance. At least 5,000 pilgrims will be allowed to visit the holy site every day without a visa.
India maintains that both sides are in agreement over all issues related to the Kartarpur corridor, except for a $20 service charge Pakistan intends to impose on Sikh pilgrims. Disagreement over the issue even led to a delay in launching online registration for pilgrims intending to visit the shrine.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the project on November 9, three days before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India's end of the corridor on the same day, news agency IANS had quoted Home Ministry sources as saying.