Home Minister Amit Shah greeted the nation on the occasion of Parkash Purab of Guru Granth Sahib ji on Saturday. Shah took the opportunity to reiterate the commitment of the Narendra Modi government to complete the work on the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor within the given time frame. In a tweet, the Home Minister wrote:

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The Kartarpur Corridor

The Kartapur Corridor links the shrines of Dera Baba Naik Sahib in India's Punjab with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartpaur in Kartarpur, Pakistan. The corridor will facilitate free movement of Sikh pilgrims who wish to visit the holy shrine of Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara. The shrine is located at a distance of three kilometers from the International Border between India and Pakistan. Once the work on the corridor is completed, the pilgrims will be able to visit the shrine without needing a visa but will however need a basic permit. The pilgrims will be able to visit the shrine and return on the same day. The foundation stone for the corridor was laid by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on November 26, 2018, while Pakistan PM Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for the corridor on the Pakistan side two days later. 

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Significance of the corridor

The shrine is of religious and historical significance as it is where Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism settled and lived for the last 18 years of his life. The shrine is built on the site where he passed away in 1539. The proposal to build a corridor was first issued by then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999. The Sikh community had been demanding for a corridor to be built for decades. There have been multiple rounds of talks between authorities from both sides to discuss the technical aspects of the corridor. 

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