Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Sunday welcomed India’s decision to send two ministers to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur border corridor, terming it a ‘positive response’ to Pakistan’s move.

“Indian foreign ministry has responded well to Pakistan’s initiative in its bid to bring the Sikh community closer,” Qureshi said during his visit to the stall of Indian High Commission here at a charity bazar organized by the Pakistan Foreign Office Women’s Association (PFOWA).

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in reply to Foreign Minister Qureshi’s letter has confirmed sending Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri to attend the Kartarpur event scheduled for November 28.

Qureshi said with a single yet significant step, Pakistan has won the hearts of millions of Sikhs. He expressed confidence that Kartarpur corridor would attract members of Sikh community to Pakistan from across the globe including from the United States and the United Kingdom.”The Sikh community will be greeted here with sentiments of love and they will take back positive image of Pakistan and its people,” he said.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the Kartarpur border corridor will be opened soon, adding that it will be a historical event. He said Pakistan has taken a step towards peace and Prime Minister Imran Khan has shown that Pakistan stands for peace.He said only time will tell who is right and who is wrong, adding that one can see which country is pro-peace.

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib – located in the Kartarpur area of Narowal – is the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Devji.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will perform the groundbreaking of the four-kilometre-long corridor connecting Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Gurdaspur district with Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. The corridor will provide visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to the shrine.

Pakistan government also invited Indian Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu besides 17 Indian journalists to the groundbreaking ceremony.The invitation was accepted with ‘unalloyed joy’ by Sidhu, who termed the development as ‘historic’. “This day will indeed break ground,” Sidhu said in his response.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, however, said she will not be able to visit Pakistan due to ‘prior commitments’, and that two ministers will represent India at the ceremony.”Due to my prior commitments, including election campaign scheduled in the state of Telangana on that day, I would not be able to travel to Kartarpur Sahib,” she had said in a letter sent to the Foreign Office on Saturday, while thanking Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for the invitation.”It is our hope that the Government of Pakistan will expedite the construction of the corridor in order to ensure that our citizens can pay their respects at the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor as soon as possible,” she had added.

“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 ground breaking ceremony at #Kartarpura on 28 Nov, 2018. #PakistanKartarpuraSpirit,” Qureshi had tweeted earlier on Saturday.

India had last week approved the building of Kartarpur entry point and road connecting the northern state of Punjab to the border with Pakistan, making it quicker and easier for Sikh pilgrims to visit a holy site. “Government of Pakistan will be urged to recognize the sentiments of the Sikh community and to develop a corridor with suitable facilities in their territory as well,” the Indian government had said in a statement.

The Indian move came nearly three months after Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had offered to open the route to facilitate Sikh pilgrims. The COAS had told Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu at the inauguration of Prime Minister Imran on August 18 that Pakistan was ready to open the route to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur.

Published in Daily Times, November 26^th 2018.