Officials from India and Pakistan will meet on Sunday to hold discussions on the Kartarpur corridor.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at 9.30 am at Wagah to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor and related technical issues, government sources said.
Previously, the two neighbouring countries were slated to meet on April 2, in Pakistan for the second round of talks, which was postponed after reports surfaced about the appointment of ‘controversial elements’ by Pakistan in a committee associated with the corridor.
Just a day ahead of the talks, Pakistan reconstituted its Sikh Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) list, thereby dropping Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla from the list, after India had raised concerns earlier.
New Delhi is looking forward to the upcoming talks with Islamabad and will take up a number of key issues, including infrastructure, pilgrims’ movement and safety, government sources had said on Friday.
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The Kartarpur route along the India-Pakistan border is three kilometers away from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Once opened, it would allow Sikh pilgrims direct access to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev died in 1539.
Sources said that the work on the corridor is expected to be completed by October 31, which is much before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
The key issues on the table would be the number of pilgrims allowed to access the corridor, safe and unhindered movement of pilgrims throughout the year, whether they would travel as individuals or groups, and whether they would travel by transport or foot.
The second round of talks on the corridor was announced after the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The first round was held on March 14 on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border, during which issues like finalisation of the draft agreement between the two countries were discussed.
(With ANI inputs)