Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has termed Pakistan’s response to the various issues raised by India during the first meeting on the Kartarpur Corridor as ‘inadequate’. Expressing disappointment, Singh on Friday urged Islamabad to be more amenable and responsive to India’s demands. The corridor won’t serve its true purpose with such limitations, he said in a tweet.
In a separate statement issued here, the Chief Minister said Islamabad needed to reconsider its stand keeping in view the interests of the devotees seeking to pay obeisance at the gurdwara across the border.
Singh said the pilgrims should be allowed to go through Kartapur Corridor for visa-free ‘Khule Darshan’ at the gurdwara all seven days of the week. Pakistan has to be more responsive on this issue, he added, asking the Imran Khan government to “show statesmanship” and “allow more people every day, including from overseas”.
On Thursday, Indian officials asked their Pakistani counterparts to allow 5,000 pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara on a daily basis and even raise the number to 10,000 on special occasions. However, Islamabad has allowed only 500-700 pilgrims and that too on selective days. The Indian side also asked for permitting the pilgrims to walk on foot across the corridor, but was denied by Pakistan.
The governments of the two countries took a historic decision by agreeing to open the corridor to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji in November this year.
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