ISLAMABAD: India has closed the Kartarpur Corridor in Punjab province, barring Sikh pilgrims from accessing one of their holiest sites, the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, Indian media reported on Wednesday.
The decision comes after India conducted air strikes against Pakistan during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in the martyrdom of nearly 31 civilians and injuries to over 45 others.
Pakistan responded forcefully to the aggression, downing five Indian fighter jets, including Rafales.
Indian media reported that the Modi government has suspended operations at the Kartarpur Corridor until further notice, effectively halting all cross-border pilgrimages.
Sikh devotees were reportedly prevented from entering the corridor, which links Indian pilgrims to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Narowal, Pakistan.
This development comes despite Pakistan previously exempted Sikh pilgrims from its broader diplomatic retaliation, which included ordering Indian nationals to leave the country.
The move followed India’s directive for Pakistani citizens to exit its territory in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
The closure of the corridor—widely regarded as a powerful symbol of interfaith harmony and diplomacy—is expected to face backlash from Sikh communities globally, particularly due to its deep religious importance and past exemption from political tensions.
The Indian military action comes two weeks after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 people were killed.
India swiftly blamed Pakistan for orchestrating the attack. Pakistan condemned the attack and strongly denied India’s “baseless allegations”.
Pakistan also offered an independent, neutral, and transparent international investigation into the Pahalgam incident.
However, New Delhi did not respond to Pakistan’s offer and continued with its aggressive posture.
Since its inauguration in November 2019, marking Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary, the Kartarpur Corridor has welcomed up to 5,000 Indian pilgrims daily, visa-free, under a rare bilateral agreement.
Open to all faiths, it embodies a shared reverence that transcends boundaries.
Amidst calls for justice and condemnations of the violence in Kashmir, voices from both sides are rising—not in anger, but in plea: to protect this passage of peace, and let faith travel where politics cannot.
