New Delhi/Islamabad: As India and Pakistan prepare to inaugurate the Kartarpur Corridor on Saturday, November 9, the neighbouring countries are also engaged in a war of words. On Thursday, India accused Pakistan of creating confusion by making contradictory statements on the modalities and documents to be carried by Indian pilgrims, while Pakistan in turn accused India of refusing to avail of the facilities offered by it to the pilgrims.
Amid all this, the Indian government gave political clearance to Punjab MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu to travel through the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9 to take part in the inaugural function in Pakistan.
The cricketer-turned-politician sought political clearance after receiving a personal invitation from Pakistan PM Imran Khan. Mr Sidhu sought permission to travel to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah crossing. Interestingly, Mr Sidhu was given a visa by Pakistan much before he got the political clearance from the Indian government.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan will inaugurate the historic Kartarpur Corridor — the first visa-free corridor between Pakistan and India since their independence in 1947 — on November 9. Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, and Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri will be travelling through the Kartarpur Corridor as part of the jatha and attend the inauguration. Giani Harmeet Singh, jathhedar of the Akal Takht, will be the leader of the delegation.
With just a day to go for the inauguration and pilgrims registering in heavy numbers, India said on Thursday that conflicting reports were coming from Pakistan on the travel documents required for the Kartarpur Corridor, leading to confusion and chaos.
“Conflicting reports are coming from Pakistan. Sometimes they say passport is needed and sometimes they say it is not required. As of now, there is a bilateral agreement which specifies the required documents. We will go by that. We have asked pilgrims on our side to carry their passports,” said external affairs ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar. Imran Khan announced last week certain exemptions for Indian Sikh pilgrims, which included an exemption from carrying passports. “For Sikhs coming for the pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off 2 requirements: i) They wont need a passport — just a valid ID; ii) They no longer have to register 10 days in advance. Also, no fee will be charged on day of inauguration & on Guruji’s 550th birthday”, Mr Khan had tweeted on Friday.
