ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has conveyed India its decision to open the Kartarpura corridor, the ground-breaking of which will be performed by Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 28, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Thursday.
“Pakistan has already conveyed to India its decision to open Kartarparpura Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary,” the Foreign Minister said in his tweet.
The Foreign Minister said Pakistan welcomed the Sikh community for this auspicious occasion.
Earlier, the Foreign Office Spokesman Muhammad Faisal at a weekly press briefing here said the bid for the opening of Kartarpura border-corridor between Pakistan and India had made swift progress and good news in this regard was in the offing.
“The Kartarpura Corridor will soon see the light of day which will greatly facilitate Sikh pilgrims,” he said.
The Kartarpura Corridor, on completion, will connect the Sikh holy shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib and Kartarpura Sahib shrine situated at the two Punjabs of India and Pakistan respectively.
The news of the opening of the corridor was first conveyed by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to the visiting former Indian cricketer Navjaot Singh Sidhu at the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Imran Khan in August.
Thousands of Sikh devotees are currently visiting Pakistan to attend the 549th anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak as 3,838 visas were issued.
On Indian media reporting that Pakistan Evacuee Trust had mounted banners at the Gurdwara supporting the Sikh Khalistan Movement, the spokesman said the government had nothing to do with as the area of worship was the domain of Sikh devotees.
He strongly rejected a recent statement of Indian Chief Minister Punjab Amarinder Singh who had said grenades used in Amritsar blast “seemed to carry Pakistan’s signature.”
“We categorically reject the baseless allegations. India is a serial alleger and it has become its second nature to blame Pakistan for any negative development.”
He said the purpose of such unfounded allegations by the Indian authorities was to cover up India’s own failures, internal problems and drag Pakistan into its domestic political fray.
He also mentioned that “belligerent statements” coming from the Indian army chief from time-to-time and said, “Pakistan’s restraint should not be taken as weakness”.
On issuance of domicile certificate of Uttar Pradesh to Ajmal Kasab, the person who was executed by India on charges of involvement in 2008 Mumbai attacks, the spokesman said the document issued on October 21, lend further credence to the reservations by certain quarters on nationality
of Kasab.
The spokesman said Afghanistan so far had not shared any intelligence information on the murder of SP Tahir Dawar, however, said Pakistan was investigating the matter at its own end.
To US President Donald Trump hitting out at Pakistan on Osama bin Laden, he said, “It had been a matter of record that Pakistan had extended intelligence cooperation to the United States which resulted in the killing of scores of high-value Al Qaeda leaders.”
On update about Pakistan’s mediatory efforts in the Saudi Arabia-Yemen conflict, the spokesman termed it a “very sensitive issue” to share, adding that the work was in progress to resolve the Middle East issue.
