Amritsar, Aug. 17 — Acting Akal Takht jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj on Saturday appealed to the Centre to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor, which has remained shut since May following military operations along the India-Pakistan border.
The corridor, a 4.7-km passage linking Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, was closed on May 7 after Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor against terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operation came in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead.
Gargaj said that ahead of “Jyoti Jot Diwas,” the death anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in September, Sikh devotees should be allowed to pay obeisance at the shrine, which is believed to be the Guru’s final resting place. “The Sikh sangat has a deep spiritual bond with Kartarpur Sahib. Reopening the corridor will enable the community to offer prayers on this sacred occasion,” he said in a statement.
The corridor, inaugurated during the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, had fulfilled a long-standing demand of Sikhs to access the shrine without a visa. Its closure, Gargaj said, has caused disappointment among the community. “Due to recent tensions between the two nations, the corridor was closed. The Sikh community and Punjabis have been urging the government to reopen it soon,” he noted.
The jathedar also reflected on the broader historical pain of Partition, recalling how Punjabis — particularly Sikhs on the western side of Punjab — were uprooted in 1947. “They were forced to leave behind their fertile lands and endured the loss of over 200 religious places, including the sacred birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev at Nankana Sahib,” he said.
Gargaj added that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has been holding ardas (prayer) at the Akal Takht to honor the memory of Punjabis who perished during Partition. “Such division and bloodshed should never occur anywhere in the world again,” he said.
