Will the Kartarpur Corridor stay open? Attari check post closure puts sacred passage in doubt

Following the Cabinet Committee on Security's decision on Wednesday, to immediately close the Attari check post after the Pahalgam terror attack, uncertainty looms around the future of the Kartarpur Corridor. 

In the wake of the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed the lives of 27 people, the Ministry of External Affairs had announced several restrictions on Indo-Pak diplomatic relations. While the decision suspending the Indus water treaty, closure of the Attari check post, and the return of Pakistan nationals visiting India on the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme were imposed, there has been no official confirmation on the whether the Kartarpur Corridor will remain open. The government has neither specifically ordered the closure of the corridor, nor clarified if it would remain open. 

The Kartarpur Corridor is a visa free border crossing connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, to the Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur, India. The crossing allows pilgrims from India to visit the gurudwara in Pakistan's Kartarpur, located 4.7 kilometres from the India-Pakistan border on the Pakistani side without any visa. 

The corridor was completed and inaugurated on the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, in November 9, 2019. 

Up to 5,000 pilgrims are allowed per day, though the average daily count is around 400. The pilgrims have to first register online at least one week in advance via a government portal, providing their passport details and obtaining an electronic travel authorisation.

The corridor agreement was extended by the two nations for five more years until 2029.

1) The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect.

2) The Integrated Check Post Attari will be closed with immediate effect. Those who have crossed over with valid endorsements may return through that route before 01 May 2025.

3) Any Pakistani national currently in India under SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India.

4) The Defence/Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi are declared Persona Non Grata. They have a week to leave India. India will be withdrawing its own Defence/Navy/Air Advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are deemed annulled. 

5) The overall strength of the High Commissions will be brought down to 30 from the present 55 through further reductions, to be effected by 01 May 2025.

The families of the 26 victims who lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, received the bodies on Thursday. This attack can be seen as one of the deadliest in the valley since the 2019 Pulwama attacks.