News Analysis |
Prime Minister Imran Khan will lay the foundation stone of Kartarpur corridor on November 28, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi confirmed on Thursday. India also has seemingly accepted the proposal by approving development on the Indian side.
In a message posted on micro-blogging website Twitter, the Foreign Minister stated that Pakistan has already conveyed to India its decision to open Kartarpura Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary.
“PM Imran Khan will do break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28th November. We welcome the Sikh community to Pakistan for this auspicious occasion,” the minister added.
Pakistan has already conveyed to India it's decision to open Kartarpura Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. PM Imran Khan will do break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28th November. We welcome the Sikh community to Pakistan for this auspicious occasion.
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) November 22, 2018
On the Indian side, the Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved the development of the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to the International Border. This will give Indian pilgrims easy access to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi river, in Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years.
India also has seemingly accepted the proposal by approving development on the Indian side.
A political row had erupted in India after Navjot Singh Sidhu visited Pakistan in August this year to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan as the Prime Minister. He claimed that Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had told him that Islamabad would open a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan on the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak in 2019.
According to Indian media, Sidhu subsequently met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to initiate talks between India and Pakistan on the Kartarpur corridor issue. After the meeting, Akali leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Swaraj accused Sidhu of messing up the Kartarpur Sahib corridor dialogue and misusing the political clearance that he was granted to visit Pakistan.
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Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, which is three kilometers from the India-Pakistan border, is the final resting place of Guru Nanak. For many, the opening of the Kartarpur corridor is a welcome step in the right direction for peace. The announcement was immediately welcomed by Islamabad as ‘victory for peace’.
Indian Cabinet endorsement of Pakistan’s proposition on #KartarPurBorderOpening is victory of peace lobby in both countries, its a step towards right direction and we hope such steps ll encourage voice of reasons and tranquility on both sides of the border.
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) November 22, 2018
Many Sikhs across the world have also welcomed the developments on the Kartarpur border.
Chairman Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee holds press conference in Nankana Sahib. Thanks Pak Civil-Military leadership for fulfilling Sikh community's longstanding demand to open up #Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/1NXcZc7TTN— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) November 22, 2018
I welcome this auspicious step by the Union Cabinet, it will be a cup of joy for 12 Crore ‘Nanak Naam Laivas.’ It will build bridges, burn animosity and will act like a soothing balm for two neighbouring countries. #GuruNanakJayanti #Kartarpurcorridor
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) November 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/S_Kaur_2020/status/1065707837865844736