Islamabad: Pakistan is creating confusion on the passport requirement for Indian pilgrims to visit Gurudwara Darbar Sahib. The Kartarpur Corridor is to be inaugurated on Saturday ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, when Pakistan is just giving confusing signals.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had earlier announced that he will waive off passport requirement for Indian pilgrims travelling to Kartarpur. But now, Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) – the media wing of the Pakistan military, said no such waiver had been done.
“As we have a security link, the entry would be a legal one under a permit on a passport-based identity. There will be no compromise on security or sovereignty,” Ghafoor was quoted as saying by Dawn News on Wednesday.
According to the agreement signed by both the nations, the Kartarpur Corridor was visualised as a visa-free passage to the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib for Indian Sikhs.
PM Khan had also declared that advance registration has been waived off for Indian pilgrims. He had also said that his government would exempt Indian pilgrims from paying the USD 20 entry fee on the day of the inauguration of the corridor.
It must be noted that there were reports that Pakistani military is not happy with Imran Khan. The latest snub from the military comes as proof that the Pakistani Army is not at all cosy with the Prime Minister as it once was.