Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, also called Kartarpur Sahib, is a gurdwara in Kartarpur, located in Shakargarh, Narowal District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is built on the historic site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, settled and assembled the Sikh community after his missionary travels (Udasis to Haridwar, Mecca-Medina, Lanka, Baghdad, Kashmir, Nepal) and lived for 18 years until his death in 1539.

The gurdwara is also notable for its location near the border between Pakistan and India. The shrine is visible from the Indian side of the border. Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers on bluffs to perform darshan, or sacred viewing of the site, from the Indian side of the border. A historic corridor, the Kartarpur Corridor, to the Gurdwara was opened on 9 November 2019, allowing Indian pilgrims rare visa-free access to the site in Pakistan.

Inauguration: Ahead of Guru Nanak Dev's 550th Prakash Purab celebrations the Kartarpur corridor, connecting Sri Darbar Sahib Dera Baba Nanak in India's Punjab with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur was thrown open on 9 November 2019 (on Fall of the Berlin Wall day) facilitating the first Jatha (batch) of more than 550 pilgrims to travel to the last resting place of Guru Nanak Dev. On Indian side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan for respecting sentiments of Indians and flagged off the pilgrimage and handed over the flag of the Jatha to Jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh. 

Under the leadership of Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, the Jatha traveled through the corridor into Pakistan to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur. On Pakistan side, Imran Khan received the pilgrims and formally inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor by removing a curtain that was lifted by hot air balloons from huge Kirpan (dagger). Giani Harpreet Singh, speaking at the occasion, thanked both governments for corridor and requestedcorridor access to Pakistani sikhs to pay obeisance at Sri Darbar Sahib Dera Baba Nanak on Indian side. Poetry about Guru Nanak, from Allama Iqbal's Bang-e-Dara was also read by Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh and also by Pakistani speakers at inauguration.