Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday invited former Indian cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu to attend the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor. According to media reports, Senator Faisal Javaid telephoned the Indian minister and invited him to attend the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur border corridor on November 28.
Reports suggested that Sindhu had accepted the invitation and said that he would be glad to attend the ceremony. The news came just a day after India and Pakistan agreed to construct the corridor on their respective sides to facilitate Sikh devotees ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. Prime Minister Imran Khan will lay the foundation stone for the corridor on the Pakistani side on November 28. Kartarpur Sahib is located across Ravi river in Pakistan and is about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine. The corridor, once built, will give Indian pilgrims easy access to the shrine in Kartarpur.
On Wednesday, New Delhi announced that it would start construction of the Kartarpur corridor up to the international border with Pakistan. The announcement was immediately welcomed by Islamabad. About three months ago, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had offered to open the route to facilitate Sikh pilgrims. During an exchange with Sidhu at the inauguration of Prime Minister Imran on August 18, the COAS told him that Pakistan was ready to open the route.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib – located in the Kartarpur area of Narowal district of Punjab – is the final resting place of the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Devji, and one of the holiest shrines of the Sikh community.
Published in Daily Times, November 24th 2018.
