Kartarpur corridor: Pakistan says India’s decision to postpone April 2 meeting incomprehensible
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that New Delhi has sought clarifications from Islamabad on some proposals it had put forward.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal on Friday said Islamabad regrets New Delhi’s decision to postpone the meeting on the Kartarpur corridor. The meeting was scheduled to be held on April 2. Earlier on Friday, Faisal had tweeted welcoming the Indian media for the meeting at Wagah.
In November 2018, New Delhi and Islamabad laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor project, which will connect Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab with the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Pakistan’s Narowal district. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, died in Kartarpur in 1539. The corridor will allow Indian Sikh devotees to travel without visas to the pilgrimage site.
India and Pakistani officials held their first meeting on the Kartarpur corridor on March 14 in Attari. India urged Pakistan to provide visa-free access to 5,000 pilgrims a day initially, on all days of the week, to the Kartarpur shrine.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Friday that New Delhi has sought clarifications from Islamabad on some proposals it had put forward during the previous meeting. “India has also shared concerns and sought clarifications on reports that controversial elements have been appointed by Pakistan to a committee to be associated with the Kartarpur corridor,” the ministry said. “It has been conveyed that the next meeting on the modalities can be scheduled at an appropriate time after receiving Pakistan’s response.”
The ministry added that India has proposed a second meeting of technical experts in mid-April to resolve outstanding matters “in order to take forward the infrastructure development for the corridor”. The first technical meeting was held on March 19.
But Faisal said the April 2 meeting was arranged to “discuss and find a consensus on outstanding issues”. “Last minute postponement without seeking views from Pakistan, and especially after the productive technical meeting on March 19 is incomprehensible,” Faisal tweeted.