Imran Khan talked of peace between India and Pakistan as he laid the foundation stone for a corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur.
Showering praises on his "friend" Navjot Singh Sidhu, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the Congress leader would win an election in Pakistan if he contested.
Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of Kartarpur corridor, Khan said, "I don't know why was Sidhu criticised. What crime did he commit by coming here (on Khan's oath-taking ceremony)? Mashallah, let me tell you one thing, from what I have seen since yesterday, you (Sidhu) will win if you contest election here, especially in Punjab."
Khan laid the foundation stone for a corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur - the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev - to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims.
Khan said he hoped that "we don't have to wait for Sidhu to become Prime Minister for the two countries to become friends."
"There are two types of politicians. One who takes bold decisions, who dreams and another who is scared of losing the vote bank. One who takes votes by spreading love and another who spreads hate. I hope that we don't have to wait for Sidhu to become Prime Minister for India and Pakistan to become friends. I hope a leadership comes who has the strength to take bold decisions," the cricketer-turned-politician said.
"The only issue between us is Kashmir, all it needs is just two capable leadership to resolve this issue. Just imagine the potential we have if our relationships get strong," he added.
Khan said his party and the country's influential army want to mend ties with arch-foe India.
"I the prime minister, my political party, the rest of our political parties, our army, all our institutions are all on one page. We want to move forward," Khan was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Khan said "if India takes one step forward then we will take two steps forward toward friendship".
Earlier, he laid the foundation stone for a corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur - the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev - to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims.
Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine. It was established by the Sikh Guru in 1522. The first Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built here, where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died.
The Kartarpur Corridor, which will facilitate the visa-free travel of Indian Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, is expected to be completed within six months.
The development comes ahead of Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary next year.
Thousands of Sikh devotees from India visit Pakistan every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
India had proposed the corridor to Pakistan around 20 years back.
India was represented by Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri at the event. Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu also attended the ceremony.
Sidhu called for an end to violence saying that peace should be restored between India and Pakistan.
Punjab's Tourism and Culture Affairs Minister also recited poetry in praise of Pakistan PM Imran Khan.
Mrs Badal, who also spoke at the ceremony, got emotional during her speech.
"When the wall of Berlin can be brought down, then hatred between India and Pakistan can be brought down too with the 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 said.
Last week, Pakistan and India announced that they would develop the corridor on their respective side of the border to help Indian pilgrims visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.
India-Pakistan ties nose-dived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place. The ties between the two countries had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016.
Pakistan had invited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who thanked her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi for the invite and said she was unable to travel to Kartarpur Sahib due to prior commitments.
The issue of Kartarpur Sahib came into focus after Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu visited Pakistan in August to attend the oath-taking ceremony of his cricketer-turned-politician friend Imran Khan as prime minister of that country.
After his return, Sidhu said that Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had told him that Pakistan may open a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib.
Sidhu has already arrived in Lahore with a group of Indian journalists to attend the ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday.
(With PTI inputs)
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