New Delhi, November 9: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj urging her to take up the issue of opening of the corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to Sri Kartarpur Sahib with the Government of Pakistan. The Punjab Chief Minister sought her personal intervention to seek access from the Pakistani side to enable devotees to visit the historic Gurudwara Sahib in Kartapur on the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji.

Earlier in September, Singh had urged the Centre for expeditious resolution of the issue of opening up of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor for preparedness of 550th birth anniversary of the Sikhism founder. Singh said that being a bilateral issue, this needed an active engagement of both India and Pakistan for its resolution. Punjab Ministers, MLAs to Get New Vehicles: Debt-Ridden Amarinder Singh Govt Approves 400 Luxury Cars Including Land Cruisers, Fortuners. 

The Chief Minister had said that he had personally met the prime minister and the external affairs minister and requested them to take up the issue with Pakistan. Reports informed that if not permanently, Punjab will seek an early opening of the corridor at least for a year, until the culmination of the celebrations. The state government is keen on getting the corridor to Kartarpur Sahib, where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life. Amarinder Singh Backs Navjot Singh Sidhu for Legalising Opium Cultivation. 

The chief minister had said that his government was fully geared to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of the first Sikh Guru. For this, an executive committee has been set up to monitor the progress of the commemoration of this mega event.

In August, Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had gone to Pakistan to attend the oath taking ceremony of his friend Imran Khan as Pakistan's Prime Minister, had said the neighbouring country had already shown a "positive intent" in this regard.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 09, 2018 01:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).