NAROWAL – Pakistan Army lambasted Indian media for misinterpreting a brief interaction between Chief of the Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa and a pro-Khalistan movement leader Gopal Chawla at the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur border corridor.
As Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor on Wednesday, scores of guests attended the event including Chawla with whom General Bajwa had a handshake which was twisted by Indian media outlets in a bid to peddle their ultra-nationalist narrative.
India’s leading news channels reported that General Bajwa intentionally met Chawla for political reasons, ignoring that the military chief met all the guests and welcomed them at the peace initiative taken by Pakistan without singling anyone out.
Dismayed by the brief interaction, Indian news channels aired the live transmission with slugs like ‘Khalistanis attended event’ or ‘Pak’s brazen terror provocation’.
Reacting to the propaganda, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s military, Major General Asif Ghafoor highlighted that a peace initiative should not be subjected to propaganda.
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Chawla is known as one of the central leader of the Sikh separatist movement, which seeks a separate homeland for the community.
When Chawla was asked why he met Pakistan’s military chief, he replied that he was the general secretary and chairman of Pakistan Gurdwara Association and it was their programme.
“We should not take this issue towards negativity. I shook hands with Gen Bajwa. Pakistan’s army chief lives in our hearts. I consider it as my good fortune if I met him,” Chawla stated.
He, however, added that their should be brotherly relations between Islamabad and New Delhi.
On another query, Chawla advised media to keep Jamaautud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed away from this matter.
India’s army chief General Bipin Rawat said the Kartarpur corridor should be seen in isolation, and shouldn’t be linked to anything else.
