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Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur, Punjab), Mar. 3 (ANI): Leaders of several Sikh bodies, who gathered here along with Sikh devotees, have urged the Indian Government to include the issue of providing safe passage to pilgrims along the Kartarpur Corridor in talks with Pakistan.The demand was made Thursday in the context of Sikh pilgrims facing difficulty in visitng the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, which is located about three kilometers from the India-Pakistan border in Pakistan.

The first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev spent 17 years of his life at this shrine.

Devotees often pay homage to the shrine near the fencing that separates the two countries. A makeshift stage has been set up to allow devotees to glimpse the shrine with the help of binoculars. It can also be seen with the naked eye in clear weather.

Sikh organizations like the American Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (AGPC), the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC), the Kartarpur Langha Committee and others have all appealed to the governments of India and Pakistan to create a safe passage corridor to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib.

Former External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherji is on record as assuring the present Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government about looking into the demand.

The DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna has called on both India and Pakistan to discuss the matter and turn this dream of Sikhs into reality.

The AGPC convenor, Dr. Pritpal Singh, told ANI from US that talks have been initiated on this issue with the two governments and the U.S. State Department. It is an ongoing process, he added.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said letters have been written on a number of occasions to the respective governments on the issue, but to no avail. (ANI)