External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday came down hard on her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi for his "googly" remark, saying it "exposed" him and that Pakistan has no respect for Sikh sentiments.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday came down hard on her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi for his "googly" remark, saying it "exposed" him and that Pakistan has no respect for Sikh sentiments.
In a series of tweets, Swaraj said,"Mr.Foreign Minister of Pakistan - Your 'googly' remarks in a dramatic manner has exposed none but YOU. This shows that you have no respect for Sikh sentiments. You only play 'googlies'." "Let me explain to you that we were not trapped by your 'googlies'. Our two Sikh Ministers went to Kartarpur Sahib to offer prayers in the Holy Gurudwara", she said.
Reacting, Mahmood Shah Qureshi wrote on Twitter: “Dragging my comment towards "Sikh sentiments" is a deliberate attempt to misrepresent & mislead. What I said was strictly with ref to bilat.interaction with the Indian Govt. We have deep respect for Sikh sentiments & no amount of distortions or controversies would change it. In deference to the long-standing desires of our Sikh brethren, we decided to open the Kartarpur Corridor. We have taken this historic initiative in good faith and will carry it forward in good faith.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who completed 100 days in office, on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur Corridor linking two revered gurdwaras on both sides of the border in Kartarpur in Punjab province.
Union ministers from India, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri, along with Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, attended the event in Pakistan Punjab province's Narowal area.
On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi had said Prime Minister Khan bowled a "googly" to ensure Indian government's presence at the groundbreaking ceremony of the landmark Kartarpur Corridor.
Qureshi's remarks came a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj categorically ruled out the possibility of resumption of bilateral talks with Pakistan unless it stops cross-border terror activities against India.
However, Pakistan on Saturday said the Kartarpur corridor initiative was taken solely to fulfil the longstanding wishes of "our Sikh brethren" and criticised the "negative propaganda campaign" against the historic move.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Sushma Swaraj")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}