LAHORE: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday announced Pakistan’s willingness to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor from June 29 and allow Sikh pilgrims to commemorate the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh by visiting one of the holiest shrines in their faith.
Singh ruled a large swathe of territory in the northwestern region of the Indian Subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He is usually regarded as the greatest Sikh ruler of all times since he fought a series of battles to expand his empire and captured several strategic locations in Punjab.
His death anniversary is observed from June 27 to 29, drawing many members of the Sikh community from across the world to Pakistan who want to pay homage to their deceased leader.
“As places of worship open up across the world,” Qureshi wrote in a Twitter post, “Pakistan prepares to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for all Sikh pilgrims, conveying to the Indian side our readiness to reopen the corridor on 29 June 2020, the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.”
Pakistan’s Sikh community has welcomed the announcement, urging the Indian government to give a positive response to the gesture
“The entire Sikh fraternity is happy about the development. We also request the Indian administration to reciprocate and allow members of the Indian Sikh community to visit Kartarpur,” Sardar Satwant Singh, president of Pakistan Gurdawara Parbandhak Committee, told Arab News.
The Evacuee Trust Properties Board (ETPB) said it would take all necessary precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“The ETPB will adopt all Standard Operating Procedures prepared by the government while accommodating pilgrims at Kartarpur Sahib. We are ready to welcome Sikh devotees from India on June 29,” Amir Hashmi, a spokesperson of the board, told Arab News.
The Kartarpur Corridor is a 4-kilometer-long visa-free passageway for India’s Sikh pilgrims who desire to visit the final resting place of the founder of their faith, Guru Nanak Dev. It was inaugurated by the Pakistani and Indian prime ministers in November 2019 in their respective countries. The corridor remained functional despite the deteriorating relations between the two South Asian nuclear-armed neighbors until the spread of the new coronvirus this year when it was shut down in March for health safety purposes.
Pakistan’s announcement to reopen the passageway comes hard on the heels of an Indian decision to limit diplomatic relations with its western neighbor by cutting down its embassy staff by half and asking Pakistan to do the same.
Pakistan to reopen Kartarpur Corridor on Monday — FM Qureshi
https://arab.news/mbcsx
Pakistan to reopen Kartarpur Corridor on Monday — FM Qureshi
- Sikhs express happiness on the decision, urge India to respond positively to the development
- The corridor was shut down in March 2020 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus
IMF mission meets Pakistani officials ‘on the ground’ for loan reviews
- Visiting team carries out third and second reviews under two IMF funding programs
- The delegation meets central bank officials in Karachi as tranche decision looms
KARACHI: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission has begun review talks in Pakistan that will determine the release of the next tranche under the country’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), officials familiar with the discussions said on Thursday.
The visit marks the formal launch of negotiations under the third EFF review and the second RSF review, both seen as critical to sustaining Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery and maintaining external financing stability. The discussions are expected to focus on fiscal consolidation, monetary policy, structural reforms and climate-related benchmarks tied to the RSF program.
“The team is on the ground now,” an IMF official told Arab News, requesting not to be named as the talks are ongoing.
The visiting IMF mission began its meetings in Pakistan’s commercial capital, Karachi, where they met banking regulators at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the officials said.
Last week in Washington, IMF Director of Communications Julie Kozack said the staff team would begin review talks with Pakistani authorities from Feb. 25.
The IMF official declined to share details of the review agenda, saying: “It will be hard to answer the rest of your questions as the team is busy with meetings on the ground. We will post a press release at the conclusion of the mission.”
IMF staff missions typically conclude review talks within a fortnight, with any remaining discussions continuing virtually if the review is not finalized during the visit.
Separately, a senior SBP official confirmed the IMF delegation’s presence in Karachi but declined to provide details.
“Yes, the IMF team was here yesterday,” he told Arab News. “They held meetings at the central bank. I don’t know about the details of their discussion but can confirm only this much for now.”
The central bank plays a key role in IMF reviews, as the Washington-based lender has urged Pakistan’s monetary policymakers to maintain interest rates at “appropriately tight” levels to contain inflation, which, though declining from its peak, remains a concern.
The SBP in January defied market expectations for a rate cut and kept its benchmark policy rate at 10.5 percent, a move analysts said aligned with IMF program requirements.
“We don’t have any idea about who is part of the mission, how long they will stay here [in Karachi] and when and who they will meet there [in Islamabad],” the SBP official said.
The IMF communications director said last week that Pakistan’s recent performance under the program had improved.
“Pakistan’s policy efforts under the EFF have helped stabilize the economy and rebuild confidence,” Kozack told reporters in response to a query.
“Pakistan currently has a primary fiscal surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2025, which was in line with program targets,” she added. “Headline inflation has been relatively contained. And Pakistan posted its first current account surplus in 14 years in fiscal year 2025.”
The $7 billion EFF program, secured in 2024, aims to stabilize Pakistan’s economy through fiscal discipline, market-determined exchange rates and structural reforms.
The $1.4 billion RSF complements it by supporting climate resilience and sustainability reforms.
