Kartarpur border crossing: A day of Pak-India positive postures

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed an announcement by the Indian Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the Modi government had endorsed Pakistan’s proposal to develop the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district up to the Gurdwara in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will perform the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur facilities on November 28. Information Minister Fawad Hussain tweeted that this was “a victory for peace” and “a step in the right direction which would encourage the voice of reason and tranquility on both sides of the border.”

It was when the COAS General Bajwa was unexpectedly and warmly hugged by the visiting former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu that expectations ran high that the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor would be facilitated.

Sidhu had met with Bajwa at the President House when he participated in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony. The opening of the corridorwas first conveyed by the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to the visiting former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu in the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"General Bajwa came to me and said we’re thinking of opening the Kartarpur route on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. A new morning is here in Pakistan with a new government which can change the destiny of the country," he had said after embracing Gen Bajwa.

Thousands of Sikh devotees are currently visiting Pakistan to attend the 549th anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak as 3,838 visas were issued. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi immediately tweeted as the news came in from New Delhi saying, "Pakistan has already conveyed to India its decision to open Kartarpur Corridor for Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary. PM Imran Khan will do break ground at the Kartarpur facilities on November 28. We welcome the Sikh community to Pakistan for this auspicious occasion.”

The decision to build the corridor has been taken keeping in mind the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev in 2019. The Sikh Yatrees are coming to Pakistan from all over the world for their religious rituals. Earlier, the Foreign Office said the bid for opening of the Kartarpur border corridor between Pakistan and India had made swift progress and good news in this regard was in the offing.“The Kartarpur Corridor will soon see the light of day which will greatly facilitate Sikh pilgrims crossing two countries,” he said.

The Kartarpur Corridor, on completion, will connect the Sikh holy shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib and Kartarpur Sahib shrine situated in the two Punjabs. In his weekly briefing, Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal said Pakistan desired to discuss all matters with India.

“No person less than our prime minister wrote to the Indian prime minister expressing our desire to engage with India in all matters which included people-to-people contacts, religious tourism and all other matters that you refer to in your question. You are all aware of the Indian response. We, on our part, continue to make efforts but in the absence of a positive response from the other side the success of our efforts cannot be assured,” he added.

Commenting on the recent hawkish statements made by the Indian Army chief, the spokesman remarked, “We have seen that such belligerent statements are repeatedly made from across our eastern border. However, we maintain that restrain, wisdom and prior thinking is required which we do not see from the Indian side. I would like to once again underscore that any restrain on our part must not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness.”

Asked about reports in the Indian press about issuance of a certificate of domicile, dated 21 October 2018, to one Ajmal Kasab in Bidhoona Tehsil of Auraiya district of the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh, the spokesman said happenings such as these lend further credence to the concerns already raised by several quarters in this context.

“Our prime minister had proposed a meeting of both foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA to evolve a way forward to discuss all outstanding issues. This included terrorism about which Pakistan has its own specific concerns including that emanating from India as is evident by the confession of Commander Jadhav and other information. However, this was peremptorily cancelled by India on baseless pretexts,” he responded.

Pakistan categorically rejects baseless allegations of Indian Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amrindar Singh who has accused its intelligence agency of being behind the Amritsar attack. “India is a habitual alleger and it has become its second nature to blame Pakistan for any negative development, without blinking an eye. The purpose of such smear and unfounded allegations by the Indian authorities is to cover up India’s own failures, externalise its internal problems and drag Pakistan into its domestic political fray during the election season. Pakistan is confident that this malicious propaganda would be able to mislead neither the international community nor the discerning people in India itself,” he said.

Commenting on the killing of SP Tahir Dawar, the spokesman said to-date Afghanistan had not shared any information. “We strongly condemn the killing of SP Tahir Dawar. The entire episode of the discovery of Tahir Dawar’s body in Afghanistan till its handover to Pakistani authorities is really painful for us. Afghanistan has not shared any information with us yet. We hope that Afghan authorities will carry out investigations and keep us abreast of the developments. We are also investigating the matter,” he added.