PM Imran performs ground-breaking of Kartarpur Corridor
The initiative was taken by Pakistan which was later endorsed by the Indian side
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday performed the ground-breaking of the four kilometers long Kartarpur Corridor.
The event was attended by Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri and Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed, as well as Indian ministers, foreign diplomats, Sikh yatris and a delegation of Indian journalists.
The Indian delegation included Minister for Food Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister for Housing Hardeep S. Puri, Indian Punjab Minister for Local Government and Tourism and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu.
As the event commenced, a film about the pilgrimage of members of the Sikh community to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib was aired for the audience.
State-of-the-art gurdwara
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri took the stage first and termed the ground-breaking as an important event of history. He asserted that Kartarpur gurdwara will be made into a state-of-the-art gurdwara.
He said in November next year, the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak will be observed in a befitting manner by government and people of Pakistan.
Peace should prevail now
Former cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu thanked PM Khan for opening the corridor and expressed good wishes.
"India’s Constitution says there will be no discrimination on the basis of caste or creed. Baba Guru Nanak said this 549 years ago," Sidhu said. Religion should never be seen through politics and terrorism, he added.
Sidhu stressed that peace should prevail now as there had been enough bloodshed.
“Both the governments should realise that we have to move forward. My father used to tell me that Punjab Mail went till Lahore, I believe that it can go further till Peshawar, till Afghanistan,” says Sidhu.
Hatred between India, Pakistan can be brought down
Visibly emotional Indian Minister for Food Harsimrat Kaur Badal went on to say that she had never thought of visiting Pakistan but is now here on this historic day. "I saw the corridor becoming a reality in Indian Punjab there and now I am seeing it here," she said.
“When the wall of Berlin can be brought down, then hatred between India and Pakistan can be brought down too with opening of Kartarpur Corridor. It can be a new beginning in the name of Baba Nanak who said ‘na koi Hindu na koi Musalman lekin ek Onkar,” she declared.
Corridor to reduce distances
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi maintained in his address that Guru Nanak gave the message of peace and love. He hoped that Kartarpur Corridor will be able to reduce mutual distances.
The foreign minister recalled Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Aug 11, 1947 speech, quoting him as saying: "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State."
"The whole world has welcomed the decision to open the Kartarpur corridor on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak," he said.
Capable leadership needed to resolve Kashmir issue
Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing the ceremony lauded the happiness and joy on the faces around him. "Happiness I saw today was like of those Muslims who are standing 4 km away from Medina on other side of the border, but are unable to visit it, but when they get chance to visit it, the happiness they get is the happiness they are relishing today," he asserted.
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"The only issue between us is Kashmir, all it needs is just two capable leaderships to resolve this issue. Just imagine the potential we have if our relationships get strong," said PM Khan.
"I heard there was a lot of criticism of Sidhu when he went back after my oath-taking ceremony. I don’t know why was he criticised. He was just talking about peace and brotherhood. If he contest election here in Pakistan’s Punjab, he’ll win for sure," said the premier.
The four-kilometre-long visa-free corridor will be opened on the Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary next year by Pakistan government.
Kartarpur Corridor
The corridor will connect Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Narowal district with Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Gurdaspur District.
Pakistan will build the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab’s Gurdaspur district upto the border will be constructed by India.
It will facilitate the Sikh pilgrims visiting their most sacred sites in Pakistan. The initiative for opening the corridor was taken by Pakistan which was later endorsed by the Indian side.
The initiative has widely been lauded both in Pakistan and India as a step towards building bridges between the two countries.
