Pakistan mulls another Kartarpur-like religious corridor with India

DUBAI: The Sindh government has pitched the idea of opening a Kartarpur-like religious corridor in the province for the followers of the Hindu and Jain religions willing to visit historical temples.

Speaking at a ceremony in Dubai related to the promotion of Sindh’s tourism, Provincial Minister for Tourism Zulfiqar Ali Shah on Thursday said a religious corridor similar to the Kartarpur could be built on the Pakistan-India border to facilitate those eager to explore the religious sites.

Shah suggested that the corridor could be established in Nagarparkar and Umarkot. Nagarparkar had many historical Jain temples, he maintained.

He claimed that there were scores of Hindus and Jains who wanted to visit the religious sites in Sindh.

For the religious tourists' facilitation, the minister proposed that the Sindh government could commence a weekly flight from India to Sukkur or Larkana as well.

Umarkot is home to Shri Shiv Mandir, which is considered one of the oldest Hindu temples in Sindh.

Some people believe it was constructed more than 2,000 years ago. But in an interview with an international news agency, a local Hindu community leader claimed was as old as 5,000 years.

Meanwhile, there are numerous abandoned Jain temples in Nagarparkar.

Kartarpur Corridor

The government of Pakistan on November 9, 2019, inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor with India which stretched about 4.1 kilometers, or 2.5 miles, from the Pakistan-India border.

The corridor marks a significant reduction in the journey for Sikh pilgrims who want to visit the sacred temple — Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur.

The pilgrims from India would have to opt for alternatively — a bus from India to Lahore and then to Kartarpur, which makes the journey a whopping 125 km long.

The Kartarpur Gurdwara is one of the holiest and sacred sites for followers of the Sikh faith and, with the corridor's opening, it has been accessible by crossing an international border and without a visa — a major feat after over seven decades of the subcontinent's partition.

It is the final resting place of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, who died in 1539 after living in the Kartarpur town for almost two decades in the 16th century.

The Kartarpur Corridor inauguration ceremony coincided with Guru Nanak's 550th birthday — on November 12.