Despite External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh deciding to give the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor a miss, Pakistan has hailed India’s ‘positive response’ on the issue.
The Pakistani media quoted country’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as saying that India’s Ministry of External Affairs had “responded well to Pakistan’s initiative to bring the Sikh community closer”.
According to a report in Pakistan-based The Express Tribune, Qureshi said that “Pakistan had won the hearts of millions of Sikhs” with its decision on the Kartarpur corridor. He added that the corridor would welcome Sikhs from not just India, but other parts of the world, including the US and the UK.
Qureshi’s response came after Sushma Swaraj expressed her inability to attend the ground-breaking ceremony, which is slated to held on Wednesday.
“Since I am unable to travel to Kartarpur Sahib on the scheduled date, Government of India will be represented by my esteemed colleagues Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Mr. H.S.Puri,” the External Affairs Minister had tweeted.
Minister of State for External Affairs General (retired) VK Singh, however, clarified that not much must be read into Sushma not attending the event.
Emphasising that New Delhi is committed to making the corridor functional at the earliest, Singh said, “Sushma Swaraj has reasons which must be delinked from it. She is committed because of elections and health issues. To read too much into it is wrong. India is committed to ensure Kartarpur corridor comes up fast and would like Pakistan to cooperate.”
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh also declined the invitation from Pakistan, citing continued terror attacks and killings of Indian soldiers by Pakistan armed forces.
However, Congress leader and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has accepted the invitation. The cricketer-turned-politician, who had triggered a controversy by attending Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony, has said that he is awaiting a response from the MEA.
