The Sikh ‘sangat’ from Pakistan and India will conduct a special ‘ardas’ at the Zero Line on Monday for the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor connecting Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur with Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal district, Pakistan.On the Indian side, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj will arrive at the Zero Line near Dera Baba Nanak.Ramesh Singh Arora, president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC), said a Nagar Kirtan has been scheduled from Gurdwara Sri Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib, to the Zero Line today. The procession is expected to reach the border at around 5:30 pm (Indian time).Gurdwara Darbar Sahib is the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.Upon reaching the Zero Line on the Pakistani side, the devotees will recite Rehras Sahib, perform Gurbani Kirtan and Aarti, and offer special prayers before the Guru, seeking the early reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor in accordance with the aspirations of Sikhs on both sides of the border.Arora, who is also the Provincial Minister for Minority Affairs, Pakistan Punjab, said Sikh devotees from both India and Pakistan would simultaneously perform Rehras Sahib, Aarti and Shabad Kirtan during the evening and pray for the corridor to be reopened at the earliest.Large numbers of Sikh devotees from Pakistan’s Punjab province are expected to participate in the Nagar Kirtan with deep religious fervour.Giani Gargaj has appealed to the Sikh community of Dera Baba Nanak and the surrounding border areas to gather at the Zero Line near the Kartarpur Corridor at 5:30 pm and participate in the programme and collective prayer in large numbers.The ardas will seek the reopening of the corridor so that devotees can once again visit and pay obeisance at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib, the revered shrine associated with Guru Nanak Dev Ji.It has been over a year since India closed the Kartarpur Corridor — the visa-free passage allowing Indian and NRI pilgrims access to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib — “until further orders” following Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year.The closure has drawn sharp criticism from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).On March 28, the SGPC formally passed a resolution during its annual budget session demanding the immediate reopening of the corridor, saying the closure had deeply hurt religious sentiments.Inaugurated on November 9, 2019, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the corridor allowed visa-free travel for up to 5,000 Indian pilgrims daily.