ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—The federal government of Pakistan has today officially announced to impose a service fee worth $20 on every Sikh pilgrim aspirant of paying obeisance at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib via newly constructed corridor.
“Pakistan will charge USD 20 per person as service fees, not entrance fees, for Kartarpur Corridor,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in a weekly briefing.
Justifying the imposition of this service fee, Faisal said that this was meant to cover 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the costs, which is only a small part of the expenditures being incurred on the construction of facilities for the pilgrims on the Pakistani side.
It may be recalled here that the India and Pakistan had failed to finalize an agreement on the Kartarpur corridor following differences over key issues including Islamabad’s insistence on charge a fee for allowing pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib earlier this month.
India is not agreeable to the proposal for charging pilgrims, said B C L Das, leader of the Indian delegation and Joint Secretary, Internal Security in the Home Ministry told a press conference after the third round of talks with Pakistan officials in Attari.
“Owing to certain differences on a few key issues, the agreement between India and Pakistan could not be finalized. Pakistan has insisted on charging a service fee for allowing Pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, which is not agreeable in the spirit smooth and easy access through the corridor,” he said.
He also added: “India has persisted that it should be free for the pilgrims who wish to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib. However, Pakistan has shown extreme inflexibility on the issue and they haven’t accommodated our request.” “Pakistan has also shown its unwillingness to allow the presence of Indian Consular or Protocol officials at the Gurdwara premises. We also urged them to reconsider its position on the same,” the official said.
During the meeting, both the sides also agreed on visa-free travel by Indian pilgrims to the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan using the corridor. Moreover, it will allow as many as 5,000 pilgrims to visit the Gurdwara every day.
