In the month of June Pakistani media began talking about a new religious corridor that Pakistan considers creating, akin to Kartarpur, with India. This time they plan to target not the Sikhs, but Jains and Hindus.

Aim is to push Pakistan’s Tourism ?

The Sindh administration has proposed establishing a corridor in the province to enable Hindu and Jain followers to visit ancient temples. During an event in middle east focused on promoting Sindh’s tourism, Provincial Minister for Tourism Zulfiqar Ali Shah mentioned on Thursday that a religious corridor, similar to Kartarpur, could be developed along the Pakistan-India border to aid those interested in visiting religious sites. Shah recommended that this corridor could be set up in Nagarparkar and Umarkot, highlighting Nagarparkar’s many historic Jain temples.

To assist religious tourists, the minister also suggested that the Sindh administration could start a weekly flight from India to Sukkur or Larkana. Umarkot hosts the Shri Shiv Mandir, regarded as one of the oldest Hindu temples in Sindh.

Kartarpur Corridor– An ISI sleuth’s wish come true

Kartarpur is most definitely not an ideal example of a corridor for facilitating religious tourism. If anything on myriads of occasions ISI handlers and their agents inside India have used the corridor for their ease of movement.

One good example is of Tapinder Singh, an ISI agent, who was arrested from Chandigarh in 2022. Punjab Police confirmed that he was planning to visit Pakistan to meet his handler via Kartarpur corridor. One of the reasons why the ISI officer asked Tapinder to use Kartarpur corridor is– that he was be deputed there.

“His handler in Pakistan had asked him to visit the country through Kartarpur Corridor in a recent WhatsApp chat. He told him that he was recently deputed at the corridor and they will meet soon,” said an officer of Punjab Police’s state special operation cell (SSOC).

Creating another “religious” corridor will not just help Pakistan mint money out of the sentiments of Hindus and Jains living in India but also be an opportunity for ISI to drop its roots deeper inside India. It’s evident that Pakistan’s spy agency ISI believes in leaving no stone unturned to use acts of subterfuge to hurt India. Why take the risk?

Let’s hope Pakistan’s nefarious plot is nipped in the bud. An Indian Jain told the author– “I would prefer visiting the religious sites inside Pakistan, only when that becomes a part of India, again”.