Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur district), May 7 — The Bureau of Immigration under the Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended operations at the Kartarpur Corridor until further notice, disrupting the travel plans of 150 Sikh pilgrims who had assembled at the integrated check-post on Wednesday morning.
Devotees, many of whom had arrived in the early hours, were left waiting for over 90 minutes before immigration officials informed them that cross-border travel to Pakistan had been halted.
“We were made to wait without any information. Then an official told us we were not allowed to proceed to Darbar Sahib Gurdwara,” said Tarsem Singh, one of the pilgrims. “They said the corridor is shut till further orders.”
The sudden closure has left many disappointed and confused, especially in light of circulating speculation following a recent terror attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 26 tourists were killed on April 22. Although the corridor remained open in the days that followed, fears of suspension had been growing.
“There were rumours since the attack that the passage might be shut down,” said Satnam Kaur, another pilgrim. “Now that it’s closed, we’ve been told we’ll need to reapply online once it reopens.”
Officials did not issue a formal explanation for the move, but the timing has raised concerns that it may be linked to heightened security measures in the region.
The Kartarpur Corridor, which allows Indian pilgrims visa-free access to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, has often been vulnerable to disruptions due to geopolitical or security developments. As of now, no date has been provided for when the passage will be reopened.
