- India has called off a second round of talks with Pakistan on the Kartarpur Corridor scheduled to be held on 2nd April.
- The inclusion of Khalistan separatists supporter in the recently constituted Kartarpur-related committee by the Pakistan government is the main reason for India calling off the talks.
- The issues that need to be resolved on kartarpur corridor includes (a)the number of pilgrims to be allowed daily (b)the days the corridor will remain open (c)the citizenship of those who will be able to access the corridor and (d)the documentation required.
- Further,Pakistan’s proposals for a special fee and a demand that the pilgrimage be restricted to Sikhs are not acceptable to India.India has been pushing for permission by Pakistan to allow all Indian citizens, including people with Overseas Citizen of India cards to visit the shrine.
- The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement, which seeks to create a separate country called Khalistan in the Punjab region to serve as a homeland for Sikhs.The territorial definition of the proposed country Khalistan consists of both the Punjab,India along with Punjab, Pakistan and includes parts of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,Jammu and Kashmir, and Rajasthan.
- The Kartarpur Corridor is a 4km long proposed corridor comprising border gates,road and a bridge to link Dera Baba Nanak gurdwara in Gurdaspur district in India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan.It is aimed at allowing the easy movement of Sikh pilgrims to the Kartarpur gurdwara.
