Qureshi had last month invited Dr Singh for the inauguration ceremony to be held in Kartarpur.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday claimed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who was invited for the inauguration of Kartarpur corridor wrote back to him saying that he would "come not as the chief guest but an ordinary man."
Pakistan will inaugurate Kartarpur Corridor on its side on November 9, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the corridor, linking the Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Dera Baba Nanak to the Kartarpur Sahib Shrine on November 8.
Qureshi had last month invited Dr Singh for the inauguration ceremony to be held in Kartarpur. The invitation was declined by the former Prime Minister who has instead accepted Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's invitation to join the first all-party 'jatha' to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara across the border.
In an interview to a Pak TV channel, Qureshi claimed that Singh had responded to his letter.
"I had invited former PM of India Manmohan Singh. I am thankful to him, he wrote me a letter and said, 'I will come but not as the chief guest but an ordinary man.' We will welcome him even if he comes as an ordinary man," Qureshi said.
It is interesting to note that Manmohan Singh, having served two full terms as Prime Minister of India, never visited Pakistan during the 10 years of his prime ministership. Singh was born in Gah which is in now in the Chakwal district of Pakistan's Punjab province. After the Partition, his family had migrated to Amritsar.
The corridor connects the Dera Babak Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur in Pakistan. Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, located 4.5 km from the border, is highly revered among Sikhs as it was the place where Guru Nanak spent 18 years of his life and is his final resting place.
Prime Minister Narendra will inaugurate the 4.5-km-long Kartarpur Corridor on November 8 while the inauguration on Pakistan side will take place on November 9.
In its draft proposal sent to India, Pakitan has demanded a service fee of US $20 (approximately Rs 1450) fee per pilgrim. The Centre will take a call on the Kartarpur Corridor service fee, a condition put forward by Pakistan, after the Haryana and Maharashtra election campaigns end, according to Zee Media sources.
(With inputs from Sidhant Sibal)
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