Chandigarh, November 26: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has declined Pakistan’s invite for Kartarpur corridor foundation stone laying ceremony citing continued terror attacks in Punjab and killings of Indian soldiers by Pakistan forces.
In a letter to Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the chief minister has welcomed the historic occasion, which he described as the cherished desire of the Sikhs around the world. However, he said he won’t be able to attend the ceremony.
The chief minister said his reasons for declining the invitation were two-fold. “Firstly, not a day passes when Indian soldiers are not killed or wounded on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, adding that rather than moving towards normalcy these incidents are escalating.
The Punjab CM pointed out that a few months ago, his battalion lost one Major and two jawans in an ambush laid on the Indian side of the LoC, well within the Indian territory.
Singh said the ISI has started its nefarious activities within Punjab and since his government was sworn in, in March 2017, the state had neutralized 19 ISI armed and controlled modules, apprehended 81 terrorists and recovered 79 weapons, in addition to numerous grenades of the HG 84 type made in Pakistan’s Ordnance factories, with Austrian know-how, along with seizure of some IEDs.
Singh said he had denied the invitation in the light of the recent grenade attack in Amritsar’s Nirankari Satsang Bhawan where 3 people were killed and 19 injured. The attack was carried out by Pakistan’s ISI backed Khalistani groups.
“I hope the Prime Minister will understand that under these circumstances it will not be possible for me to be present in Pakistan on this historic occasion, despite the fact that paying my respects at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib has always been my cherished dream which will hopefully be fulfilled once these hostilities and killings are stopped,” Singh said.
The Punjab CM, however, thanked Qureshi for the invitation to the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the proposed corridor linking Gurdwara Sahib Kartarpur to Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab, where Sikh Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life.
The chief minister recalled his visit to Pakistan when he had paid his respects at Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib where his father Maharaja Yadvindra Singh had reconstructed Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib in 1932.
As you will see from the stone laid at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib, it was my grandfather Maharaja Bhupindra Singh who carried out flood protection measures from 1920 to 1929 to protect our Gurdwara which was being ravaged by floods in the river Ravi each year, he further wrote.
A visit to Sri Kartarpur Sahib has been a long cherished dream, and I hope once normalcy between our two countries is restored I will be able to do so, when the corridor is complete, said Singh
He even recalled his meeting with Qureshi during his Pakistan visit.
The Chief Minister expressed the hope that the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will do all he can to bring the two countries together on the road to peace and friendship.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has accepted the invitation for Kartarpur ceremony and said he “look forward” to attending the event.
In his reply to the invitation from Pakistan Foreign Minister, Navjot Sidhu wrote, “It is with great honour and unalloyed joy that I accept your invitation to attend the ground breaking ceremony at Kartarpur Sahib, I look forward to meeting you on this historic occasion.”
“As our two nations take this first step, the Kartarpur spirit can make pilgrims of us all, venturing out on a journey that breaks barriers of history and opens the borders of hearts and minds.”
Sidhu, however, said his visit is subject to clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs.
Earlier on Saturday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj thanked the Pakistan government for the invitation to the Kartarpur ceremony but said she will not be able to travel to Kartarpur. Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur and HS Puri will represent India.
The Indian side will be laying foundation stone on November 26 at Dera Guru Nanak Sahib, while, Pakistan will have the ceremony at Kartarpur Sahib on November 28. The move is being seen as warming up of relation which could trigger reversal of hostilities between two neighbours.
It is to be noted tha India will lay the foundation stone on the tenth anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks carried out by Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-taiba terrorists where over 165 people were killed and 300 injured. The attack had contributed to the strained relation between India and Pakistan.
Source India Today
