Pakistan invites Sushma Swaraj, Amarinder Singh, Navjot Singh Sidhu for Kartarpur Corridor opening

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday formally extended an invitation to his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur Border corridor on November 28, 2018. Prime Minister Imran Khan will break ground to develop passage at the crossing on the Pakistan side, commemorating the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak on Wednesday.

"On behalf of Pakistan I have extended an invitation to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj @SushmaSwaraj, Capt Amarinder Singh @capt_amarinder and Navjot Singh Sidhu @sherryontopp to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at Kartarpura on 28 Nov, 2018," Qureshi wrote on Twitter.

On behalf of Pakistan I have extended an invitation to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj @SushmaSwaraj ,Capt Amarinder Singh @capt_amarinder & Navjot Singh Sidhu @sherryontopp to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at #Kartarpura on 28 Nov, 2018.#PakistanKartarpuraSpirit

— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) November 24, 2018

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On behalf of India, President Ram Nath Kovind and Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh will lay the foundation stone for Kartarpur Corridor at Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, on November 26.

A long-pending demand of the Sikh community to build a religious corridor connecting India's border district of Gurdaspur with a historic gurudwara in Pakistan is expected to be fulfilled with both the countries agreeing to develop in their respective areas.

In a significant decision, the Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared a proposal to develop a corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district to the International Border to facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

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The issue of Kartarpur Sahib came to light after Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu visited Pakistan to attend the oath-taking ceremony of his friend and Pakistan PM Imran Khan in August. Days after returning to India, Sidhu said that Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had told him that Pakistan may open a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib.