India has signed the agreement on Kartarpur Corridor with Pakistan on Thursday connecting Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan.
With the signing of this agreement, a formal framework has been laid down for operationalisation of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
The Joint Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs, SCL Das said that the online portal for the registration of pilgrims has gone live.
He also said that Indian pilgrims of all faith and persons of Indian origin can use the Kartarpur corridor.
"The travel will be visa-free. Pilgrims need to carry only a valid passport," he added.
He also said that the corridor will be open from dawn to dusk and pilgrims travelling in the morning will have have to return on the same day.
"Corridor will be operational throughout the year, except on notified days, to be informed in advance," he added.
It was earlier scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed for a day.
Earlier on Monday, India had said it was "constrained" to accept US $20 service fee proposed by Islamabad for using the Kartarpur corridor.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Indian side of the corridor on November 8, Pakistan will officially open the corridor from its side a day after, ahead of the 550th Birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak which starts on November 11.
The corridor connects the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan.
Both sides had agreed last year to open the corridor to the Kartarpur corridor located in Pakistan, just a few kilometres from the International border, on the occasion of the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
Kartarpur Gurudwara has huge significance in Sikhism since Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent the last 18 years of his life in the area where the Gurudwara stands now.
(With inputs from Sidhant Sibal)
