After a long period of hostility, the India-Pakistan relation is finally showing sign of improvement. The groundbreaking ceremony for the corridor to Kartarpur Sahib, one of the holiest shrines of Sikhs, was held in Pakistan on Wednesday. Two union ministers and Punjab minister Navjot Sidhu attended the event. Significantly Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa also attended the ceremony. The Kartarpur corridor will link Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan, to Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur, Punjab.
The corridor once completed will allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to travel to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur without a visa. The opening of corridor will lead to more people to people contact which has potential to reduce the tension between two countries. It is a step in right direction. But the core issue of terrorism still continues to dominate the dynamic of relation between two hostile neighbours. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in Kashmir and other parts of the country. The Pakistan army continues to target India as their no. 1 enemy. These are the issues which has become major bottleneck for the two countries. However unless dialogue takes place the issues will never be resolved. The opening of Kartarpur corridor has opened window of opportunity of peace and for the greater interest of sub continent both the nations should grab this opportunity.