New Delhi, October 3: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said that former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has accepted his invitation to join the first jatha (batch) of Sikh pilgrims to Sri Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara. The first batch of pilgrims to Sri Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara will be led by Amarinder Singh himself. The pilgrims will visit the 16th-century Gurdwara through the newly-built Kartarpur Corridor on November 9 to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Punjab Prepared to Counter Pakistan Terror Threat, Says Amarinder Singh.

The Sri Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara is located in Pakistan's Narowal district. "It (Manmohan and Amarinder's visit to the gurdwara) should not tantamount to Pakistan visit," Punjab government sources said. Amarinder Singh also met President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital and invited them to take part in the Kartarpur Corridor opening ceremony at Dera Baba Nanak and the main programme at Sultanpur Lodhi in Punjab on November 12.

Earlier this week, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi invited Manmohan Singh to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor. Singh's office had said he would reject any such invite from Pakistan. Here it may be noted that tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated after New Delhi withdrew Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370.

Pakistan will open the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9, the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 28, 2018. In India, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh laid the foundation stone of the religious corridor.

The Kartarpur Corridor will allow Sikh pilgrims to travel from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan. The 16th-century Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan has historical significance for Sikhs as Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, spent 18 years there.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 03, 2019 07:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).