India Pakistan extends Kartarpur Corridor agreement till 2029n

• The governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to extend the validity of the Agreement on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for five years until 24 October 2029.

• The initial agreement was to lapse on 24 October 2024.n

• The latest agreement between the countries was announced by the Ministry of External Affairs.

• The agreement between the two countries comes in the background of the Minister for External Affairs, Dr S Jaishnakar’s visit to Pakistan for the 23rd Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisations (SCO) Council of Heads of Government, held in Islamabad on 15 & 16 October 2024.

• In Islamabad, Dr Jaishankar met the Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

• It was the first direct talk between the foreign ministers of both countries since the 2015 visit of the-External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan to attend the Heart of Asia Conference in Islamabad.

About the Kartarpur Corridorn

• India and Pakistan signed an agreement in 2019 to facilitate Indian pilgrims’ visits to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan for five years.

• This agreement established a corridor between the two countries through which the Indian pilgrims were to visit Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan and return to the country.

• This corridor is popularly called the Kartarpur Corridor.n

• Indian pilgrims can visit Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor without a visa, but they must pay a $20 per person fee.