NEW DELHI/LAHORE – India will send its two union ministers to attend the opening of a new Pakistani border crossing for Sikh yatrees, in a rare sign of cooperation between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had invited his Indian counterpart, Sushma Swaraj, to attend the Nov 28 opening of the Kartarpur crossing, which will facilitate pilgrimages from India to a shrine to Guru Nanak, the 15th-century founder of Sikhism.
https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/1066381518543568897
She declined, citing her pre-committed political engagements midst forthcoming elections in several states as the reason for not able to attend the ceremony.
https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/1066382811819470848
However, Swaraj confirmed Sunday that Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Junior Minister for Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri will attend.
https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj/status/1066383803172577280
Prime Minister Imran Khan will kick off the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor, on the Pakistani side, on Wednesday.
The Gurdwara Kartarpur Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Narowal city holds religious significance for the Sikh community. It is the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Devji, and one of the holiest shrines of the Sikh community.
The decision to open the Kartarpur border was made after Imran Khan assumed office in August.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/pm-imran-to-open-kartarpur-corridor-on-nov-28/
Navjot Singh Sidhu, the minister of Local Government, Tourism, Cultural Affairs, and Museums of the Indian state of Punjab, is also set to visit Pakistan again to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur border corridor.
The former cricketer courted controversy at home by embracing General Qamar Javed Bajwa on his visit for Imran Khan’s oath-taking as the country’s premier. Last month, Sidhu once again stirred more controversy by saying that going to Pakistan was better than South India owing to the cultural similarities.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over the disputed Kashmir region, where the two sides still regularly exchange fire.
