Citing terror by Pakistan, Amarinder declines invite
CHANDIGARH: Punjab’s chief minister Amarinder Singh has declined an invitation by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to attend the laying of the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor on November 28, citing terrorist attacks in his state and the killings of Indian soldiers by Pakistani armed forces.
In a letter to the Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Amarinder welcomed it as a “historic occasion”, which he also described as a “cherished desire of Sikhs around the world”, but said he would not be present for the ceremony across the border.
“[Pakistan’s spy agencies] ISI has started its nefarious activities within Punjab and since my government was sworn in, in March 2017, the state neutralized 19 ISI armed and controlled modules, apprehended 81 terrorists and recovered 79 weapons, in addition to numerous grenades made in Pakistan’s ordnance factories,” said Amarinder, referring to last week’s grenade attack on a Nirankari religious gathering in Amritsar.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the attack that killed three people. Police suspect the role of a Khalistani group backed by Pakistan’s ISI.
“I hope the Pakistan Prime Minister will understand that in these circumstances it will not be possible for me to be present in Pakistan, despite the fact that paying my respects at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib has always been a cherished dream which will hopefully be fulfilled once these hostilities are stopped,” added Amarinder, who received the invitation from Qureshi on the behalf of PM Imran Khan.
But a minister in his state cabinet, Navjot Singh Sidhu, accepted the invitation “with unalloyed joy”. “As our nations take this first step, the Kartarpur Spirit can make pilgrims of us all, venturing out on a journey that breaks the barriers of history and opens the borders of hearts and the mind,” he wrote in his letter to Qureshi.
Sidhu, on his last visit to Pakistan on August 18 to attend Khan’s swearing in ceremony, sparked a controversy after he hugged Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an attack and the Punjab CM expressed unhappiness over his gesture, Sidhu justified his visit to Pakistan saying he went there as a messenger of peace and hugged the Pakistani army chief in an emotional response to the information provided by him that the neighbour country was working on the corridor to Kartarpur Sahib.
On Thursday, both India and Pakistan agreed to build corridor on their respective sides, to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019. Welcoming the move, Amarinder had said the move will facilitate pilgrims desirous of visiting Kartarpur gurudwara. But the next day the government lodged a strong protest with Pakistan after Indian diplomats were harassed and denied access to Sikh pilgrims visiting gurudwaras in Pakistan.
Vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu will lay foundation stone in Dera Baba Nanak tomorrow.
Always cherished a dream to visit Kartarpur gurdwara. I regret to decline the invite of SM Qureshi. Can’t go while killings of Indian soldiers & terror attacks in Punjab continue.
CAPT AMARINDER SINGH, Punjab CM
STATE CONGRESS CHIEF SAYS SIDHU SEIZED THE MOMENT AFTER CHANGE OF REGIME IN PAK AND HELPED MAKE KARTARPUR CORRIDOR DREAM A REALITY
Even as Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday declined Pakistan’s invite to attend the stone-laying ceremony for the Kartarpur corridor on the other side of the border on November 28, the state Congress has rallied behind local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who accepted Pakistan’s request with “with unalloyed joy”.
“The corridor is a tribute to the first Sikh master, Guru Nanak, and his teaching of universal brotherhood. The prayers of Sikhs all over the world have fructified. Sidhu seized the moment after change of regime in Pakistan and helped make this dream a reality,” Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar said.
Declining the invitation, Amarinder has cited terrorist attacks in Punjab and killings of Indian soldiers by Pakistani armed forces, as the reasons.
Though Amarinder has tried to take a high ground on issues of national security and terrorism, the real reason lies in the precedence Islamabad accorded to Sidhu in its invitee list. In Amarinder’s calculation, his minister Sidhu, as Imran’s friend, would garner much of the limelight in Pakistan.
Pak foreign minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi had invited Sidhu on Friday, describing him as a steadfast partner in this endeavour. On Saturday evening, Qureshi tweeted an invite to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Amarinder. Sushma too has declined the invite and deputed two Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri to represent her.
Amarinder has taken refuge under the anti-Pakistan rant also as Indian delegation comprising Harsimrat would have overshadowed him, much to his discomfiture.
Sidhu on Sunday wrote back to Qureshi accepting the invitation saying the corridor will break barriers of history and open borders of hearts and mind and he has sent his request to attend it to the external affairs ministry.
“The prayers of 12 crore Sikhs and Sindhis have been answered. No one should play politics over the corridor. I am going as an Indian, on invite of a friend,” he said, refusing to comment on Amarinder’s stand saying that is the CM’s personal decision.
BJP RESURRECTS BELEAGUERED BADALS
The decision of the BJP-led government at the Centre to allow the corridor has also resurrected its beleaguered ally the Shiromani Akali Dal, which is facing heat over sacrilege and police firing incidents of 2015.
The renewed bonhomie was evident when PM Narendra Modi also took part in Gurpurb function at SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife Harsimrat’s residence on Friday after announcing the opening of the corridor.
The allies have also tried to steal Sidhu’s thunder who had made the first announcement on Pakistan’s keenness to open the corridor after his visit to Imran’s swearing-in stirred a controversy over his hug to Pak army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. Sidhu is one of the star campaigners of the Congress against the BJP in the five poll-bound states and a known Badal-baiter.