UN Secretary-General António
Guterres on Tuesday said he had been moved by the show
of religious unity he had witnessed in Pakistan after paying
visits to a mosque, a Sikh temple and Kartarpur Corridor, the
visa-free crossing which alls Sikhs to travel between nearby holy
sites on each side of the India-Pakistan border.
“This is a very emotional moment. It is wonderful to see
interfaith dialogue” said the Secretary-General, on the last leg
of his three-day visit to Pakistan, where, since Sunday, he has
pressed for climate action, and praised Pakistan’s compassion for
hosting Afghan refugees, as well as the South Asian country’s
major contributions to UN peacekeeping.
Speaking
to the media in the town
of Katarpur after his stop at the
Corridor, the UN chief said: “It is wonderful to see in
the same shrine today Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, maybe Hindus —
all worshipping in harmony and in peace”.
Kartarpur is a town located in the province of Punjab (Pakistan)
on the right bank of Ravi River. It is said to have been founded
by the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak in 1504 AD, where he
established the first commune. The name means “place of God”.
To facilitate visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims, the
establishment of Kartarpur Corridor in September 2018.
The “Corridor of Peace” was inaugurated on 9 November 2019
on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. The
Corridor links Gurdwara Kartarpur Saheb with Gurdwra Dera Baba
Nanak, across the border in India.
Echoing this sentiment and urging religious unity and tolerance,
Mr. Guterres called the Kartarpur Corridor a “corridor of hope”
after he also visited a gurdwara, or Sikh Temple, and the
Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, he added: “When we see so many parts
of the world fighting in the name of religion, it’s necessary to
say that religions unite us for peace and the best symbol is this
shrine”.
