Decision to re-open Kartarpur Corridor will be as per Covid-19 protocol: MEA

Ahead of the Guru Nanak Jayanti the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that a decision to re-open the Kartarpur Corridor will be taken as per the coronavirus protocol.

Speaking at the weekly virtual briefing, Anurag Srivastava, MEA Spokesperson, said that the Kartarpur Corridor was closed due to COVID-19 protocol and it will re-opened only after consultation with all the concerned authorities.

"The decision to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor will be in line with #COVID19 protocol. We are in touch with all the concerned authorities," said Srivastava.

On October 2, Pakistan government had announced the re-opening of the 4.7-kilometre-long passage that connects Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in India's Gurdaspur and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur. It was inaugurated last year.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kartarpur Corridor was shut down by the Indian government in March.

Pakistan's government had also imposed a ban on Pakist nationals from travelling via the Kartarpur corridor.

It was reopened briefly in June to commemorate Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death anniversary, with India rejecting Pakistan's offer and refusing to open the corridor on its side.

( With inputs from ANI )