India, Pakistan discuss opening of pilgrimage corridor

NEW DELH, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The first meeting on modalities and draft agreement for facilitating Indian pilgrims to visit a pilgrimage site in Pakistan was held Thursday at Attari international border between The two countries.

The Indian delegation was led by S.C.L. Das, The joint secretary in The Ministry of Home Affairs, while The Pakistani delegation was led by Mohammad Faisal, The spokesman of The Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Both sides held detailed and constructive discussions on various aspects and provisions of The proposed agreement, and agreed to work toward expeditiously operationalizing The Kartapur Sahib Corridor, said a statement issued by India's External Affairs Ministry.

It furTher stated that both sides also held expert-level discussions between technical experts on The alignment and oTher details of The proposed corridor.

At The meeting it was agreed to hold The next meeting at Wagah on April 2. This will be preceded by a meeting of The technical experts on March 19 at The proposed zero points to finalize The alignment.

The meeting was held in line with The two governments' decision to operationalize The Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on The occasion of 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev (a Sikh community Guru) in November.

Opening of The corridor and having smooth access to The Sikh shrine in Pakistan is a long-pending demand of Sikh pilgrims from The Indian side.