Kartarpur corridor: Pakistan claims India’s response to proposal to finalise deal is ‘childish’
Islamabad had earlier this week sent New Delhi a draft of the proposed agreement and called for talks, but India invited Pakistani delegates to New Delhi.
Pakistan on Thursday described India’s response to its proposal to finalise an agreement on the opening of the Kartarpur corridor as childish and claimed that Islamabad’s response will be mature. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, died in Kartarpur in 1539.
Islamabad sent New Delhi a draft of the proposed agreement on the corridor earlier this week, and called for negotiations to begin, Dawn reported. Pakistan said it had appointed a focal person from its side for the deal, and had asked India to do the same. It asked the Indian government to urgently send a delegation to Islamabad for negotiations.
On Tuesday, New Delhi said it has shared the coordinates of crossing point of the corridor along the International Border with Pakistan. India also invited a delegation from Islamabad, and suggested possible dates for talks – February 26 and March 7.
“This is a typical example of the childish behavior of this Indian government,” Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said during a press briefing on Thursday. “Let me assure you that Pakistan will look at the issue in a mature manner and will take a considered decision.”
In November, New Delhi and Islamabad laid the foundation stone for the corridor that will connect Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab with the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Pakistan’s Narowal district.