Flat Broke – Pakistan wants $20 fee / pilgrim for a visit to Kartarpur – Govt Says No Deal

India and Pakistan on Wednesday failed to finalise an agreement on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor during their third round of talks at Attari over the thorny issue of $20 service fee per pilgrim being demanded by the latter. Other sticky points were Pakistan’s unwillingness to have Indian consular presence on the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara premises and reluctance to allow protocol officials to travel with the pilgrims.

The two countries, however, agreed on visa-free travel by Indian pilgrims to the gurdwara, without any restrictions. They also agreed that 5,000 pilgrims from India could visit the holy place daily. However, Pakistan did not agree to indicate 10,000 as number of additional pilgrims to be allowed on special occasions, citing infrastructure constraints.

Punjab public works department secretary Hussan Lal, who was part of the Indian delegation, said the Pakisani team had demanded service fee of $20 per pilgrim as they had made huge investments to create infrastructure for the Kartarpur corridor. This was strongly opposed by the Indian side.