Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that the Indian government will make efforts to open a corridor for the Sharda Peeth pilgrimage in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), similar to the Kartarpur corridor in Punjab. The move would require engagement with Pakistan and the reopening of the Line of Control (LoC) at Teetwal in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara, which has been closed indefinitely since the special status to Jammu and Kashmir was revoked in August 2019. The announcement was made by Shah after he virtually inaugurated the Sharda Devi temple at Teetwal in Kupwara district. The ancient Sharda temple and centre of learning, or Sharda Peeth, is located in Neelam Valley across the LoC in PoK. Shah said the inauguration of the temple is the beginning of an era and a step towards the promotion of Sharda script and the discovery of the Sharda civilisation.
