ISLAMABAD, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan and India on Thursday signed the Kartarpur corridor agreement to allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit a holy shrine in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
The Director General of South Asia and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation desk at the Pakistan Foreign Ministry Mohammad Faisal and Indian Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary S.C.L. Das signed the agreement at zero point located at Pakistan-India border.
Talking to the media after the signing ceremony, Faisal said that the corridor will be operational throughout the year and the pilgrims will be able to visit the holy site in Pakistan seven days a week from dawn till dusk.
He said that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will formally inaugurate the corridor on Nov. 9, adding that the first group of Indian pilgrims will come to Pakistan through the corridor on the same day.
Following the inauguration of the corridor, a visa free link between the Sikh shrines of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur located in Pakistan's Punjab province and Dera Baba Nanak located in India's northern state of Punjab will be open for the pilgrims.
"Under the agreement, India will provide a list of pilgrims 10 days before their visits so that they could be properly received," he said, adding that Pakistan will facilitate up to 5,000 pilgrims per day, and 20 U.S. dollars per visitor per visit will be charged from the pilgrims as service charges.
The agreement is finalized after three rounds of tough negotiations between the two sides.