Kartarpur Corridor Row: Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh Asks Centre to 'Engage With Pakistan' For Resolving Issue
Capt Amarinder said the Centre should move towards expeditious resolution of the issue, in a bid to open up the corridor by November, when the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev will be celebrated.
Chandigarh, Sept 23: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has appealed the Centre to "engage with Pakistan" for resolving the dispute over the opening of Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Capt Amarinder said the Centre should move towards expeditious resolution of the issue, in a bid to open up the corridor by November, when the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev will be celebrated. Sushma Swaraj to Raise Kartarpur Sahib Issue with Pak Foreign Minister, Says MEA.
"Being a bilateral issue, it needs active engagement of both India and Pakistan for its resolution," the Punjab CM said. His appeal comes a day after New Delhi rejected Islamabad's proposal of resumption of dialogue, saying talks and terror cannot go hand-in-hand.
Notably, Pakistan has indicated its willingness to open the Kartarpur route, with the country's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry claiming that newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan intends to open up the route for scores of Sikh pilgrims in India.
The first gesture from Pakistan came in August, when Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu went to Islamabad to attend Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony. On the sidelines, Sidhu claimed that he was told by Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa that they "want to open up Kartarpur through Indian border by Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary".
The Centre, however, claimed that Pakistan is yet to officially communicate on the issue. The Ministry of External Affairs claimed that it has been raising the issue with Islamabad rigorously over the past few decades.
Kartarpur, located 6-km away from the Indian city of Gurdaspur, houses the shrine where Guru Nanak lived in the latter stage of his life. Since the partition, Indian Sikhs have been petitioning for visa-free access to the town via the International Border.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 23, 2018 08:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).