Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann rose in the Vidhan Sabha on 28 September, calling on the Union to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor before Gurpurab.
The corridor, which had been suspended in May 2025 after Operation Sindoor, was last open for Sikh devotees in 2019. Mann warned that the spiritual aspirations of the people must not be eclipsed by politics, and urged the Centre to act swiftly.
In September, the Border Security Force barred a delegation led by Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj from advancing to the Zero Line at Dera Baba Nanak. The Jathedar, who had planned to perform ardas for the corridor’s reopening, was met with security protocols that halted the group’s march.
The Punjab Vidhan Sabha passed a resolution urging the Centre to reopen and regularise the corridor, which connects Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan. Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains called the corridor “a bridge that reconnects the Sikh Sangat with the soil where our Guru Sahib walked.”
For the Sikh community, the corridor is more than a passage; it is a link to a sacred site associated with Guru Nanak and a reminder of the Partition legacy that left key shrines in Pakistan. The Jathedar’s plan to visit Dera Baba Nanak monthly underscores the community’s hunger for uninterrupted access.
The Union Home Ministry will convene a policy review meeting on 5 October with Pakistani officials to discuss the corridor’s status, simplify registration procedures, and ensure safe pilgrim movement. The decision will be announced in early October, setting a timetable for the corridor’s potential reopening.