Kartarpur Sahib Corridor: FO summons Indian envoy to protest against propaganda

ISLAMABAD: The Indian charge d’affaires was Monday summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reject the baseless propaganda against the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor by the Indian government, which has been rejected by the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) itself.

According to a statement issued by FO Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry, it was communicated that the malicious propaganda by the Indian government appeared to be a clear attempt to malign the peace corridor initiative by casting mischievous aspersions against the interests of the Sikh community and to detract attention from India’s own reprehensible human rights violations of minorities.

It was underlined that the PSGPC remained responsible for carrying out rituals at Gurdwara Sahiban, including Kartarpur, as per the Sikh Rehat Maryada. The Project Management Unit (PMU) under the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) had simply been created to facilitate the PSGPC in this regard. The Indian side was told that any insinuations regarding transferring the affairs of the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur from the PSGPC to the PMU were contrary to the facts and ran against the spirit of the landmark initiative.

It was underscored that the Sikh community from all over the world remained greatly appreciative of the efforts made by Pakistan to complete the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Project in a record time and for the excellent arrangements made to facilitate the pilgrims.