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Imran Khan rakes up J&K on Kartarpur 'peace' road

MEA objects to pro-Khalistan leader's presence at groundbreaking ceremony

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Kartarpur corridor will link Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan, to Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur
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India on Wednesday hit out at Pakistan for politicising the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims by raising the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

Eyebrows were raised after pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Sigh Chawla was seen shaking hands with Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in photos on Wednesday. Chawla's name was recently linked by intelligence agencies to the attack on Nirankari Bhawan, Amritsar, in which three people were killed.

India was represented by Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri at the event. Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu attended the ceremony in his personal capacity.

Officials said Chawla was in contact with ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed to hatch a terror plot. The agencies had also acquired a photo of a meeting between Chawla and Saeed. He was also involved in pasting photos of 'Sikh Referendum 2020' outside Gurdwaras in Pakistan when Sikh pilgrims from India visited the neighbouring country on Baisakhi.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for a corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur. It is the final resting place of founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev — to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims.

In a departure from protocol, while Sidhu was seated closer to PM Khan and next to Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Harsimrat and Puri were a few seats away.

PM Khan in a statement said the Army and the government of his country were on the same page and called for a "civilised" relationship" with India. "Whenever I travelled to India, people would tell me the Pakistan army was not interested in peace... I am telling you that we are all on the same page and we want to move ahead with India," PM Khan said.

"For 70 years, we have been fighting with each other... India points fingers at Pakistan, and Pakistan points fingers at India. There have been mistakes on both sides, but how long must we play this blame-game?" he said.

The Pakistan PM said that Kashmir is the only issue between the two countries. "All it needs is just two capable leaderships to resolve this issue. Just imagine the potential we have if our relationship gets strong," PM Khan said.

Meanwhile, India regretted that Khan used the solemn occasion to settle political scores by raising the Kashmir issue. "It is deeply regrettable that the Prime Minister of Pakistan chose to politicise the pious occasion meant to realise the long pending demand of the Sikh community to develop a Kartarpur corridor by making unwarranted reference to Jammu and Kashmir which is an integral and inalienable part of India," said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs. He reminded Pakistan to fulfil its international obligations and take action to stop providing shelter and all kind of support to cross-border terrorism from its soil.

Backing PM Khan's views, Sidhu said that 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 and Afghanistan." An emotional Harsimrat Kaur said the corridor will bring joy and peace to both countries. "If the Berlin Wall can fall, then the mistrust between India and Pakistan can also be removed through the message of peace and love spread by Guru Nanak," she said.

Who is Gopal Singh Chawla?

  • Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Gopal Singh Chawla openly supports 26/11 terror attack mastermind and LeT founder Hafiz Saeed
  • Chawla's name was recently linked by intelligence agencies to the attack on Nirankari Bhawan in Amritsar, in which three people were killed.
  • Chawla helped Saeed's political outfit Milli Muslim League organise a convention at Nankana Sahib, the birth place Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan on April 28
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