Pakistan has invited an Indian delegation to Islamabad to finalise the Kartarpur agreement nearly two months after Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for the corridor connecting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Narowal district with Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Gurdaspur District.
According to a Foreign Office press release, Pakistan has shared the draft agreement between the government of Pakistan and the government of India for facilitation of Sikh Yatrees to visit the Gurudwara.
The government of Pakistan has appointed Director-General (South Asia and SAARC) as the focal person from its side and requested that the government of India designate a focal person at its end, stated the press release.
“Pakistan took this step to accommodate the longstanding request of the Sikh community, especially from India particularly in view of 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak. This was in line with Islamic principles that advocate respect for all religions and Pakistan’s policy of promoting inter-faith harmony and religious tolerance and also in line with Quaid’s vision of a peaceful neighbourhood. Pakistan would continue with its efforts to bring peace and stability in the region,” read the statement.
On Nov 28, 2018, Former Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, Minister for Food Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Minister for Housing Hardeep S Puri stood alongside PM Imran as he laid the foundation stone of the corridor.
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa, government officials, Indian ministers and foreign diplomats had attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
