Pakistan PM submitted proposal to Pakistan government for opening religious sites: Reports

"Prime Minister" of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider Khan Saturday said he has submitted a proposal to the Pakistan government for opening the religious sites for Sikhs, Hindus, and Buddhists in PoK on the pattern of the Kartarpur Corridor.

PoK had more than 600 pilgrim sites of Hindu, Sikh and Buddhism like Sharda and Ali Baig and authorities were planning to renovate and recondition these places to open them for pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir, Haider said at a reception in Mirpur.

Tourism would get a big boost in the territory besides strengthening the confidence between the people and governments of two countries to resolve conflicts peacefully in the region, he added.

Haider said he has asked the government of Pakistan to open all the traditional routes between PoK and Jammu and Kashmir for religious visitors like the Kartarpur corridor, recently opened in Punjab for Sikhs.

On November 28, Pakistani premier Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor, which links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur -- the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev -- to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district.

The corridor will facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims.

Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometers from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine. It was established by the Sikh Guru in 1522. The first Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built here, where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died.

(With inputs from agencies.)