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Sikh shrines to be connected by cross-border corridor

CHANDIGARH: The decks have been cleared for providing a direct express link between the historic Sikh shrines located Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan and Dera Baba Nanak in India.

An indication to this effect came on Saturday afternoon when the Union Minister for External Affairs, Pranab Mukherjee, assured Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that the governments of both countries were closing in on a mutually agreeable outcome to the oft-raised Sikh demand for a direct corridor across the Indo-Pak border.According to an official release, Mr. Mukherjee “in fact went a step further and told the media persons that a high powered group of Indian experts and officials would conduct a feasibility study for the construction of barbed corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. The feasibility study followed by the strategic clearance from Government of Pakistan would form the basis of locational alignment of the express link.”The release quoted Mr. Mukherjee as saying that the Government of India was fully aware and alive to the sanctity and significance of the issue as it had already taken up the matter in detail with Pakistan. He said he had personally conveyed Mr. Badal’s feelings on the subject to the visiting Pakistani Minister for External Affairs, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in New Delhi. The Union Minister assured the Chief Minister that the Indian Government would speed up its efforts through diplomatic channels for an early realisation of the dream of the Sikh community for a free access to the holy city in Pakistan, made immortal by its association with the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev.

Thanking Mr. Mukherjee for his favourable response to the request by the entire Sikh Community, Mr. Badal said the proposed corridor now seemed nearing reality and hoped that it would prove to be an important artery for religio-cultural tourism as well as economic prosperity and development of the region.

Mr. Badal said the Punjab Government would go out of its way to modernise strategic infrastructure in and around the Dera Baba Nanak area by providing this border segment with a modern super expressway connection with the international airport at Amritsar and the rest of the State.

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