Islamabad: For cash-strapped Pakistan, struggling to rebuild its economy and image, the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor is an opportunity to project itself as a moderate nation while earning a tidy sum annually from pilgrims.
Before coming to power, Prime Minister Imran Khan often railed at the successive governments of Pakistan for failing to exploit the vast potential of tourism, including revered religious sites, to attract tourists from around the world.
Addressing a tourism summit organised by his government here in April, Khan said the God has bestowed Pakistan with diverse kind of landscapes. “We need to give tourists awareness about the scenic beauty of the country,” Khan said.
He also highlighted religious tourism, especially for the followers of Sikhism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
In November last year, he performed the historic groundbreaking of the development work for the opening of the Kartarpur shrine for Sikhs in India and rest of the world.
The construction work has been completed in record time on the corridor. Khan is set to inaugurate it on Saturday, ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, on November 12.
Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that 10,000 Sikhs will attend the opening ceremony and then every day at least 5,000 Sikhs from India and an equal number from Pakistan and other places be allowed to visit the shrine. (PTI)
