Kartarpur corridor ‘opens hearts’
Pakistan invites Shushma Swaraj for opening ceremony
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh were invited by the Pakistan government for the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor on Saturday. Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi took on Twitter and wrote, “On behalf of Pakistan I have extended an invitation to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj @SushmaSwaraj ,Capt Amarinder Singh @capt_amarinder & Navjot Singh Sidhu @sherryontopp to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at #Kartarpura on 28 Nov, 2018.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Kartarpur corridor would act as a bridge between the peoples of India and Pakistan that might lead to a better future as he referred to the fall of the Berlin Wall to underline the importance of people-to-people contact. Underlining the strength of people-to-people contact, the prime minister said,”Had anyone ever thought that the Berlin Wall would fall. May be with the blessings of Guru Nanak Devji, this Kartarpur corridor will not just remain a corridor, but act as a bridge between the peoples of the two countries.” Earlier Pakistan PM Imran Khan invited former Indian cricketer to visit Pakistan to attend the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur border corridor with India on November 28.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Friday that Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu would visit the country to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Border corridor, according to a media report on Friday.
Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the groundbreaking ceremony of the facilities at the crossing on the Pakistan side on November 28.
Chaudhry confirmed that the former Indian cricketer would visit the country. This will be Sidhu’s second visit to Pakistan this year.
Sindhu told Roznama Express that he has gladly accepted the invitation, sent by khan for the November 28 event. He said the Pakistani premier was his friend and he will visit the country whenever he is invited by him.
“I don’t have words to express my joy,” he said.
A long-pending demand of the Sikh community to build a religious corridor linking India’s border district of Gurdaspur with a historic gurudwara in Pakistan may finally be fulfilled with both the countries announcing that stretches would be developed in their respective areas.
In a significant decision, India’s Cabinet Thursday cleared a proposal to develop a corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to the International Border to facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan.
The issue of Kartarpur Sahib came into focus after Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu visited Pakistan in August to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Khan as prime minister of that country.
After his return, Sidhu said that Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had told him that Pakistan may open a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib.
A long-pending demand of the Sikh community to build a religious corridor linking India’s border district of Gurdaspur with a historic gurudwara in Pakistan may finally be fulfilled with both the countries announcing that stretches would be developed in their respective areas.
In a significant decision, the Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to develop a corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to the International Border to facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan. It is located around 2 km from the IB between both countries and can be seen from the Indian side.
Following the Cabinet decision, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India urged Pakistan to build the corridor to Kartarpur Sahib on the Pakistani side to facilitate visit of the Indian pilgrims to the shrine — the final resting place of Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak.
Hours later, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad has conveyed to India its decision to open the Kartarpur corridor. The MEA sent a letter to Pakistan, urging it to construct the corridor on its side.
Punjab government sources said President Ram Nath Kovind and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will lay the foundation stone of Kartarpur Corridor at Dera Baba Nanak on November 26. With inputs from PTI
Press Trust of India
