ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora as an honorary ambassador-at-large for Kartarpur Corridor, a visa-free corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims traveling to Pakistan.
Arora, who is a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, became the first Sikh lawmaker in Pakistan in 2013, remaining a lawmaker until 2018. He was elected to a second term in 2020.
The Kartarpur Corridor was inaugurated in 2019 as part of the commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. The temple in Pakistan, Darbar Sahib Gurudwara, is one of the holiest shrines for the Sikh community in India, but had not been easy to reach for Indians who either needed to fly to Lahore or cross via a checkpoint on the main road between Lahore and Amritsar, India. But both routes required visas.
Since November 2019, a crossing allows devotees from India to visit the temple in Kartarpur, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the India–Pakistan border on the Pakistani side, without a visa.
“The Pakistani nation is a peace loving nation, and we invite Sikhs and Hindus from all over the world, including India, to come and visit Kartarpur,” Arora told media after his appointment, saying he would promote a “soft image” of the corridor as its ambassador.
Arora said it was the responsibility of Indian authorities to allow more pilgrims to cross over to Pakistan using the Kartarpur Corridor.
“Pakistan is a safe country," Arora said. "We are also looking forward to more and more visitors to the peace corridor. Pakistan has always promoted religious tourism."
