This is the first meeting between the officials of the two countries to decide on the details of the planned corridor such as alignment of the corridor.
Indian and Pakistani officials on Thursday met on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border to decide on the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor which will facilitate the visa-free travel of Indian Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur.
Pakistani officials arrived on Thursday morning to hold a discussion on the Kartarpur corridor even as tension between the two countries in the aftermath of Pulwama attack continues.
This is the first meeting between the officials of the two countries to decide on the details of the planned corridor such as alignment of the corridor.
"Commitment to fulfill a dream! Talks begin between India & Pakistan to discuss and finalize the modalities for the #KartarpurCorridor, at Attari, Amritsar, that’ll facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit the holy shrine of Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a tweet.
While the Indian delegation is led by SCL Das, Joint Secretary (Internal Security) in MHA and Joint Secretary (PAI--Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) MEA, Deepak Mittal, the Pakistan Delegation will be led by Director-General South Asia and SAARC Dr Mohammad Faisal along with officials from Pakistan's interior, law and religious affairs ministry.
Pakistan has brought an 18 member delegation which include Dr Fareha Bugti, director India at the Pakistani foreign ministry, Dilshad Ahmad, Joint Secretary, Pakistan's interior ministry, Tahir Ehsan, Joint Secretary, chairman, Evacuee Trust Property Board, which takes care of Hindu and Sikh shrines in Pakistan, Brig M Akhtar Khan, Deputy DG Pakistan Rangers and Col Nadeem Afzal , Project deputy director , Kartarpur corridor.
Ahead of crossing over to Indian side, the Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal, speaking to media said, "Continuing with our spirit of constructive engagement and flexibility and in line with our sincere efforts to deescalate the situation for regional peace and stability, we decided to agree to the India proposal and that is why we are here today".
The Indian side will do a press conference after 4 PM when the talks come to an end.
On the agenda for the meet are two things: one, the draft memorandum on the agreement which New Delhi shared with Islamabad on the operational modalities of the corridor, second is on border infrastructure alignment.
India and Pakistan agreed to open up a special border crossing linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur - the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev - to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district. The corridor will facilitate the visa-free travel of Indian Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.
India is optimistic about having “meaningful and constructive” talks, a government official said before the meeting.
It is important to note that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met members of the Sikh and Hindu community on Wednesday which includes Khalistan ideologue Gopal Chawla. Gopal Singh Chawla has had a very close relationship with 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed. Chawla on multiple occasions has released videos threatening India with violence.
India has already clarified the talks do not mean the resumption of dialogue. Kartarpur corridor has been a long-standing demand of Indian citizens of Sikh faith which Pakistan agreed to after India announced last year in November that it will build the corridor.
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 "Talks between India and Pakistan to discuss and finalize the modalities for the Kartarpur Corridor, at Attari")
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