Puncturing the claims of Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu that the neighbouring country was willing to allow access for Indians to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara corridor, Pakistan today categorically denied any such move and said that there was “No formal communication with India” on the issue. However, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted that Islamabad remained “open and positive”.
The comment from Pakistan came at a critical time when Punjab minister and former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu was severely criticised for his visit to Islamabad to attend Prime Minister Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony and subsequent remarks on the Sikh shrine across the border. Sidhu had even claimed that the Centre was ready to write to Pakistan seeking access for pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara.
Yesterday, the Akali Dal accused Sidhu of “doing drama” over the shrine and branded him a “traitor” for hugging Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa during his Islamabad visit last month. Sidhu met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday and claimed that the minister gave him an assurance on a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib, just four kilometres from the Indian border. “She heard me and told me that a draft is being prepared and she will write a letter to Pakistan government,” he claimed.
Sidhu had also claimed that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has already held a meeting with all stakeholders on this issue. He had earlier said that he hugged Bajwa after he told him that Pakistan would open the Kartarpur border for Sikhs from India’s Punjab to visit Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan.