Coronavirus: Foreigners not to be allowed entry through Attari-Wagah border, says BSF official

Any foreign national will not be allowed to enter India from Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border from Friday evening onwards amid coronavirus threat, a senior BSF official said here.

He said Indian nationals who had gone across the border would be allowed to come back before their visas expire.

The entry of foreign nationals through the Attari-Wagah land route will not be allowed, the Border Security Force (BSF) official said.

However, he said the movement of pilgrims from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur through the Kartarpur Corridor to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan would continue.

The Kartarpur Corridor, which was opened on November 9 last year, links the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, with Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur of India's Punjab.

Meanwhile, the supply of commodities from Afghanistan through the Attari-Wagah land route was also likely to be affected as truck drivers would not be allowed entry into India, the official said.

The trade between India and Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah land route continued to remain suspended.

Following the Pulwama terror attack last year, India had raised duties to 200 per cent on import of goods from Pakistan. The neighbouring nation had suspended the bilateral trade after the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status.

Due to coronavirus scare, eateries and small traders here were already feeling the pinch as the famous beating retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border was suspended, stemming the flow of tourists to the area.