Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora as the Ambassador-at-Large for Kartarpur Corridor as part of efforts to attract Sikh pilgrims from across the world, a government notification said on Wednesday.
The leading Sikh leader will work in the position in an honorary capacity, the notification said.
Arora hailing from Kartarpur in Narowal is also the central general secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) minorities wing. His family has been associated with the protection and welfare of the Sikh holy sites at Kartarpur.
His appointment comes as Kartarpur failed to attract the number of visitors Pakistan authorities had imagined after opening the critical holy site for Sikhs, especially those in India.
The Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in the Gurdaspur district in India’s Punjab state. The 4 km-long corridor provides visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Darbar Sahib.
In November 2019, Prime Minister Khan formally inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor as part of the commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak at a colourful ceremony.