Kartarpur corridor will act as a bridge for people of India and Pakistan: PM Modi 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that Kartarpur corridor will act as a bridge for the people of India and Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion of Guru Purab PM Modi said, "Kisne socha that ki Berlin ki deewar gir sakti hai? Shayad Guru Nanak Dev Ji ke aashirwad se, Kartarpur ka corridor sirf corrdior nahi, jan jan ko jodne ka bahut bada karan ban sakta hai (Who would have thought that Berlin wall would fall. With the blessings of Guru Nanak Dev ji , Kartarpur corridor will not be just a corridor but will act as a bridge to connect people)."

''We do not wish bad for anyone…we believe in Vasudhev Kutumbkam,'' Modi said and added that the sacrifices of the Sikh gurus have built and protected the country.

This is the first comment by PM Modi on the Kartarpur corridor.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will jointly lay the foundation stone of the corridor project in Dera Baba Nanak area of Gurdaspur district on November 26.

The Union Cabinet had on Thursday decided to develop the corridor from Gurdaspur in Punjab to the International Border (IB) to facilitate the passage of pilgrims to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan as part of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, next year.

The Centre also clarified that India's decision was not in response to any proposal from Pakistan.

"1947 me jo hua so hua.. kuchh aisi batein jo shayad sarkron aur senaon key beech hota hoga.. lekin jan jan ka judaw.. people to people contact ki ek takat hoti hai (Whatever happened in 1947, there are some things...Whatever happens between the governments, the armies happens.. but people to people contact has a power)," the Prime Minister said on Friday.

The Kartarpur Corridor project will be implemented as an integrated development project with funding by Government of India. India had approached Pakistan through its high commission in Delhi and urged it develop the corridor. Pakistan has also announced the development of corridor on its side of the border.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while briefing the Pakistani National Assembly on Friday, announced that Islamabad has decided to open the Kartarpur Corridor for the 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak next year. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will hold the groundbreaking ceremony on the Pakistan side on November 28, 2018.

The gurdwara is significant for the Sikh community since Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life in Kartarpur till he died in 1539.

It is located around 2 km from the IB between both countries and can be seen from the Indian side.