Appalling and disgraceful; India rebukes Pakistan’s proposal to charge ‘service fee’ for Kartarpur pilgrims

New Delhi, September 5: Ever since the relations between India and Pakistan strained, Kartarpur Corridor was the only link that connected both the nations on bilateral grounds. But Pakistan, attempting another appalling and disgraceful act, proposed to charge ‘service fee’ for Kartarpur pilgrims. Pakistan proposed a $20 (Rs 1,400) ‘service fee’ forms to use the corridor and also showed inflexibility on the presence of Indian diplomats to facilitate the visit of Indian pilgrims. India however disagreed to the proposed stance of Pakistan.

 

While Pakistan insisted on charging a “service fee” to allow pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Gurdwara, India was not agreeable to it. Taking into consideration about the liabilities, charging of fee was not in the spirit of “smooth and easy access through the Corridor.”

 

The Pakistani side reportedly argued with the Indian side that “there are no free pilgrimages to Vatican or Mecca”, adding that “Saudi charges double the amount for a second visit”. It is unlikely that India will agree to the fee, but if accepted, Pakistan could earn up to Pakistani Rs 15.7 lakh per day as both sides had previously agreed that 5,000 daily pilgrims would be allowed to the gurdwara and that number could be raised on special occasions.

The other bone of contention was the presence of Indian protocol and consular officers as New Delhi requested Islamabad to allow Indian officers to accompany pilgrims on every visit to facilitate their visit.

Pakistan, however, was unwilling to allow their presence there, claiming, “When there is no visa process involved, what is the point of having a consular then?” India has asked Pakistan to reconsider its position.

Head of the Indian delegation at the talks, SCL Das, Joint Secretary, Internal Security, Ministry of Home Affairs, said, “We were hopeful that this would have been last and final meeting. We are disappointed because of the points. This is a people’s project, so no fee should be charged and they should be flexible on that."

This was the third round of talks with the fourth expected to take place in Wagah, Pakistan. Work is underway on both Pakistani and Indian side of the Kartarpur corridor, with officials monitoring daily progress and expect it to be finished by October 31.

The Kartarpur corridor along the India-Pakistan border is nearly 4 km from Gurdaspur in Punjab, India. Once opened, this corridor will allow Sikh pilgrims direct access to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev passed away in 1539.