Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has been given political clearance by the government on Thursday to take part in the Kartarpur corridor inauguration ceremony on the Pakistani side on Saturday, official sources said.
Sidhu had sought permission of the external affairs ministry to attend the event following an invitation by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Political clearance has been granted to Sidhu to travel through the Kartarpur Sahib corridor on November 9, the sources said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has issued a visa to the cricketer-turned politician to attend the inauguration of the much-awaited Kartarpur Corridor on November 9.
The Pakistan government invited Sidhu - who also attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor - to attend Saturday's inauguration. A ruling party spokesperson had said that Sidhu accepted the invitation, Dawn reported.
"Pakistan has issued visa to Indian politician Navjot Singh Sidhu for his visit to holy shrine of Baba Guru Nanak," Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal announced during his weekly media briefing .
Sidhu, a Congress lawmaker and former Punjab minister, has sought permission from the External Affairs Ministry to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan on November 9.
He had come under fire from the opposition after he hugged Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa during the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Imran Khan in August last year.
Sidhu had then claimed that Gen Bajwa had told him about "making efforts to open the Kartarpur Corridor". The passport waiver for Kartarpur pilgrims would extend up to one year as a special gesture on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, Faisal was quoted as saying by Geo TV.
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