Kartarpur, Pakistan: Coronavirus fears meant a historic travel corridor created last year to let Indian Sikhs visit a holy shrine in northeast Pakistan remained closed Tuesday on one of the faith's most sacred days.
Hundreds of Pakistani Sikhs visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, a huge temple in Kartarpur marking the grave of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak, to commemorate the 481st anniversary of his death.
This year would have been the first time Indian Sikhs could have crossed visa-free into Pakistan to mark the anniversary at the site, located just four kilometres (two miles) inside the country, after a special crossing was opened in November 2019.
The creation of the Kartarpur Corridor marked a rare example of cooperation between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
Worshippers sang holy hymns from Sikh scripture, prayed and bowed before the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book.
Some lamented the closing of the new crossing.
"This corridor is not only an opportunity of pilgrimage for our Indian cousins but also an opportunity to come and meet us, which otherwise is quite difficult", said 25-year-old science teacher Komal Mehra.
India, with about 89,000 coronavirus deaths, is the world's third-worst affected country after the United States and Brazil and has imposed a range of travel restrictions.
When Pakistan was carved out of colonial India at the end of British rule in 1947, Kartarpur ended up on the western side of the border, while most of the region's Sikhs remained on the other side.
The gurdwara at Kartarpur is so close to the India-Pakistan frontier that its magnificent white dome and four cupolas can be seen from across the border.
For up to 30 million Sikhs around the world, the shrine is one of their holiest sites.
Virus fears stop Indian Sikhs visiting Pakistan site for festival
https://arab.news/5y9zq
Virus fears stop Indian Sikhs visiting Pakistan site for festival
- Creation of the Kartarpur Corridor marked a rare example of cooperation between the nuclear-armed neighbors
- Hundreds of Pakistani Sikhs visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to commemorate the 481st anniversary of his death
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
