The crossing — known as the Kartarpur corridor — is a rare sign of cooperation between the rival nuclear-armed countries.
Khan used the occasion to again call on India to work together to overcome the bitterness of the past and resolve issues through dialogue to eliminate poverty in both nations. The crossing was a Khan initiative and India last week gave the green light for construction to begin.
Instead of visas, the pilgrims will be given special permits to access their shrines — the Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab province and the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Narowal border district in its own Punjab province.
The Nov. 28 ceremony was attended by hundreds of Sikh pilgrims as well as two lawmakers from India and officials from both countries.
Pakistani army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa called the laying of the foundation for the crossing a “step toward peace, which our region needs.”
Citing examples of Germany and France after World War II, Khan said that if two European neighbors can live peacefully, why not India and Pakistan, which have fought two out of three wars between them over the contested region of Kashmir.
“Both Pakistan and India are nuclear powers, so war is no option as that will be a suicide. Then what else is the option except dialogue to resolve all issues,” said Khan, who was a world-famous cricket player before he turned to politics. “If there is a will on both sides, the issue of Kashmir could also be resolved.”
India’s own cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu said at the ceremony that he is grateful to Khan and the government in New Delhi for taking “this positive step” that will help Sikhs on both sides of the border reach their shrines.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi cited the Sikh religion’s founder, Guru Nanak, for his message of love and peace.
“We are laying the foundation of the Kartarpur corridor” with this same message, he said.
Qureshi said the Kartarpur corridor will open next November, on the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak’s birth and will include a stretch of road 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) long, a bridge on a river and a border complex with all facilities necessary for pilgrims.
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal Nov. 28 said the Kartarpur Corridor will be a "peace corridor" to end the bitterness between India and Pakistan.
She praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his efforts have been reciprocated by Pakistan.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan, Badal, who is a Shiromani Akali Dal MP from Bathinda, spoke in a different vein from Congress' Navjot Singh Sidhu, who lavished praise on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for the decision.
Shiromani Akali Dal is a partner in the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Center and is a rival of Congress in Punjab.
She said that just as the Berlin Wall crumbled, so too can the hatred that divides India and Pakistan, adding that the opening of the corridor will mark a new beginning.
"It is a historic day for our country as a wish of crores of Sikhs is being fulfilled. History is being made. What could not happen in 70 years has happened with the blessings of Almighty," she said.
She said Sikhs and devotees in India were only a short distance from the Kartarpur gurdwara but could only worship from a distance. "They were so near yet so far. Now they have the opportunity to get the closest – for the first time."
Badal said she came as a devotee and experienced limitless bliss which she had not dreamed was possible.
Referring to Pakistani Prime Minister Khan, she said he likewise had never dreamed he would be the prime minister one day. "I know when Modiji sold tea he would have never thought he would lead 1.25 crore people," she further said.
Referring to the foundation stone of the corridor that was laid in India Nov. 26, she said Nov. 28 she was for a second time witnessing history in the making. "This is a miracle of Baba Nanak."
Badal said her party had been working on the programs to mark the 55Oth anniversary of Guru Nanak for seven months and their "number one" demand from the government was the Kartarpur Corridor.
"When the Union cabinet took this decision, there was no limit to our happiness. When the prime minister took this decision, there came another good news. It will be a peace corridor for bitterness between the two countries," she said.
She said Guru Nanak had spread the message of his life by staying in Kartarpur.
She said they brought holy water from Darbar Sahib as well as soil. "This corridor will also bring all the religions together."
She urged the Pakistani government to make decisions along the lines of those made by the Indian government, including issuing postage stamps and coins to mark 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and launching train services to link all places associated with Guru Nanak.
"I want to assure you on behalf of my prime minister that the whole world will celebrate the anniversary, there will be happiness and there will be improvement in ties and the corridor will be a message of peace," she said.
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