New Delhi, July 29:

More than 110,670 Indian nationals and holders of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards have used the Kartarpur Corridor to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan since its inauguration in November 2019, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan revealed the figures in a written response to a question on visa-free travel to Pakistan via the Kartarpur Corridor, which leads to the gurdwara built at the site where Guru Nanak spent the last years of his life.

An agreement between the governments of India and Pakistan for facilitating pilgrims to visit the gurdwara was signed on October 24, 2019, fulfilling a long-standing demand of Indian citizens and OCI card-holders to have easy and smooth access to the gurdwara. The corridor was opened in time for Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary.

“Since its inauguration on 9 November 2019, the Kartarpur Corridor has been used by more than 110,670 Indians and OCI card-holders to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur. The Kartarpur Corridor remains functional on all seven days of the week,” Muraleedharan said.

The agreement provides for visa-free travel by Indian citizens and OCI card-holders from India to the gurdwara in Pakistan on a daily basis throughout the year. To facilitate the visit, state-of-the-art infrastructure, including a highway from the town of Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur to Zero Point on the border, and an integrated check post, have been built on the Indian side.

The Indian government has received representations to make the visit to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through the Kartarpur Corridor passport-free, Muraleedharan said. “However, the bilateral agreement signed between India and Pakistan on 24 October 2019 mandates that pilgrims shall travel on valid passport,” he said.

The Indian government has consistently urged the Pakistan government that, in deference to the wishes of pilgrims, it should not levy any fee or charge from those who visit the gurdwara through the Kartarpur Corridor. “Pakistan, however, continues to levy $20 per head for each visit,” he said.