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UN Chief Hails New Pakistan-India Crossing as 'Corridor of Hope'

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed as
   the "symbol of interfaith harmony" an overland passage Pakistan
   recently opened for Sikh devotees from India to pay a visa-free homage
   to one of their holiest sites.

   Guterres traveled Tuesday to what is called the Kartarpur Corridor and
   toured the sprawling newly built marbled complex hosting the Sikh
   temple, known as the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

   In a post-trip tweet, the U.N. chief said he was honored to visit what
   he described as "a corridor of hope, connecting two key Sikh pilgrimage
   sites."

   The Gurdwara or shrine is believed to have been built on the site where
   the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, lived and died in the 16th century.

   The 4.1-kilometer Kartarpur Corridor links the shrine to Dera Baba Nana
   temple in the northwestern border town of Gurdaspur on the Indian side.

   Islamabad opened the facility last November, enabling Indian Sikhs to
   visit the temple in Kartarpur for the first time since 1947 when
   British India was divided into two independent states of India and
   Pakistan.

   "When we see in so many parts of the world fighting in the name of of
   religion, it's necessary to say that religions unite us for peace and
   the best symbol is this shrine," Guterres told reporters inside the
   Sikh shrine.

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