Amritsar: To mark the Joti Jot (eternal immersion) Gurpurb of Guru Nanak Dev, Sikh devotees from India and Pakistan will gather at their respective sides of the Zero Line on Monday evening to pray for the reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) will organise a Nagar Kirtan from Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib, to the border point, arriving at 5.30pm (IST). Simultaneously, Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj will lead Indian devotees to the Zero Line at Dera Baba Nanak.
Ramesh Singh Arora, the PSGPC president and Punjab provincial minister in Pakistan, stated that devotees on the Pakistani side will perform Rehras Sahib, Gurbani Kirtan, Arti, and an Ardas seeking the route’s early reopening.
Jaskaran Singh, media adviser to the Akal Takht secretariat, said that simultaneous religious programmes will be held on the Indian side to reflect the shared sentiments of the global Sikh community. Giani Gargaj appealed to residents of Dera Baba Nanak and adjoining border areas to assemble at the border at 5.30pm on Monday to join the collective prayers.
The visa-free pilgrimage route connecting Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib in Pakistan has been suspended from the Indian side since May 7, 2025, following the Pahalgam terror attack.
In August 2026, the Union government reiterated in Parliament that the corridor remains closed due to the prevailing security situation, despite receiving multiple representations from Sikh religious bodies. The ministry of home affairs’ portal says the services remain suspended until further notice.
Inaugurated in November 2019 under a bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan—which was extended for another five years in October 2024—the corridor provides visa-free access to the historic shrine where Sikhism’s founder spent his final years.
Surjit Singh is a correspondent. He covers politics and agriculture, besides religious affairs and Indo-Pak border in Amritsar and Tarn Taran.