Kartarpur Corridor: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh declines Pakistan invitation

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday declined Pakistan's invite for the Kartarpur Corridor ground-breaking ceremony citing terror attacks in Punjab as the reason. On the other hand, Punjab minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was on Friday invited by Pakistan to visit the country to attend the groundbreaking ceremony, graciously accepted the invitation. Pakistan Prime Minster Imran Khan is likely to inaugurate the historic ceremony of the facilities at the crossing on the Pakistan side on November 28.

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Responding to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s invitation, the Punjab minister on Sunday said that he looked forward to meeting him and that his application for permission to attend the event is now lodged with MEA.

Responding to invitation of Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to attend opening ceremony of #KartarpurCorridor corridor,Navjot Singh Sidhu writes "I look forward to meeting you on this historic occasion. My application for permission to attend is now lodged with MEA" pic.twitter.com/4NexsNPtxS

— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2018

On Saturday, Sidhu had to told the Roznama Express, Pakistan's widely circulated Urdu-language newspaper, that he had “gladly accepted the invitation for the November 28 event.” He said the Prime Minister was his friend and he will visit the country whenever he is invited by him.

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On Thursday, the Cabinet approved the building and development of the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to the International Border (IB) with Pakistan. The corridor will facilitate Sikh pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur on the banks of river Ravi in Narowal District of Punjab in Pakistan. The project with all modern amenities and facilities will be implemented with the central government funding.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate 550^th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also agreed to India’s decision to open the Kartarpur corridor.