Kartarpur Corridor Meeting Scheduled on April 2 Postponed by Indian Govt Citing Presence of 'Separatists on Pakistani Panel'

Chandigarh, March 29: The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday announced the postponement of the Kartarpur corridor meeting scheduled with the Pakistani counterpart on April 2. In the statement issued by New Delhi, it expressed concern over the presence of Khalistani separatists on the Pakistani panel while announcing the deferment of the next round of talks.

Pakistan has been reportedly asked by the Indian side to explain why it has included Maninder Singh Tara, a Khalistani leader and Gopal Singh Chawla, allegedly close to Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, in the panel which will work out the Kartarpur modalities with the Indian delegation. Pakistan Seeks to Limit Visit to 500 Pilgrims a Day, Amarinder Singh Objects.

"It has been conveyed that the next meeting on the modalities can be scheduled at an appropriate time after receiving Pakistan's response," the statement read.

The Pakistan Foreign Office marked its strong disapproval to the "last-minute" postponement of Kartarpur talks by India, without informing Islamabad. The "regrettable" decision comes as a setback after the productive technical meeting on March 19.

Here's What the Pakistan Foreign Office Tweeted:

The meeting on April 2 was scheduled to take place in Wagah, on the Pakistan side of the border. Islamabad had issued an invite to Indian media earlier in the day.

The Indian and Pakistani delegations held their first set of talks on March 19. The two sides differed on various aspects of the corridor, primarily the number of Indian pilgrims who would be allowed on per day basis.

While Pakistan is of the view that 500-700 Sikhs from India should be allowed to visit per day, India wants the number to increased to 5,000, and upto 10,000 on special days.

Notably, the Kartarpur corridor will connect the  Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur -- the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev ji. The corridor will be nearly 4-km long. The foundation stone on the Pakistani side was laid last year in November by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2019 05:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).