View From The Neighbourhood: Kartarpur opening

A weekly look at the public conversations shaping ideas beyond borders — in the Subcontinent.

The editorial argues that Pakistan’s attitude on Kartarpur, as well as a lifting of ban on imports of medicines from India, signifies a maturity in country’s diplomacy, and will serve its international image well.

The September 6 editorial in Dawn congratulates the Imran Khan government in Pakistan for keeping the Kartarpur corridor open. The access to the Sikh holy site, it says, “will be without visa ‘to pilgrims of all faiths, seven days a week, throughout the year’”, according to a statement by the Foreign Office. Kartarpur, according to the editorial, provides an opening in the diplomatic tensions between Indian and Pakistan following the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status: “Taking a break from war rhetoric, provided that India demonstrates the same willingness as Pakistan, the two appear poised to enter a new (as well as return to a bygone) era of people-to-people contact, with Sikh pilgrims being allowed travel across the corridor, only needing to be issued an identification card issued by the authorities on side of the border.”