Sidhu: Pak to give access to Kartarpur gurdwara
Political storm after Punjab minister seen hugging Pak army chief, sitting next to PoK president
Pakistan may allow the Sikh pilgrims a direct access to the historic gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, situated barely three kilometers from the India-Pakistan border in Dera Baba Nanak near Gurdaspur, on the 550th birth anniversary of the Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev next year.
This was stated by Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu in Islamabad on Saturday soon after his brief meeting with Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the oath-taking ceremony of Imran Khan as Pakistan Prime Minister.
“Without my asking, I received this precious gift. Gen Bajwa hugged me and said they were thinking of opening the Kartarpur route during Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary celebrations. I had been thinking our chief minister would take this up with Pakistan, but the general made this gracious gesture on his own. He also said we want peace,” Sidhu said, addressing a press conference alongside Pakistani cricketer Rameez Raja.
The Sikh community has long been demanding a “special corridor” through the international border to the shrine that fell in Pakistan after the Partition. On a clear day, the white-domed gurdwara is clearly visible from the Indian side of the border.
Sidhu’s dramatic statement came amidst a political storm kicked up back home over his gesture of hugging Gen Bajwa and his being seated next to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s president Masood Khan during a glittering swearing-in ceremony in Pakistan’s national capital.
The BJP, SAD and AAP pilloried Sidhu and called his acts in Pakistan as “against the national interest”. The sharpest criticism, though, came from the BJP, a party that Sidhu was associated with until 2017 when he switched to the Congress. “Sidhu’s actions have put the country’s dignity at risk” said Punjab BJP chief Shwait Malik.
A live coverage of Khan’s ascent on Pakistani news channels showed a beaming Sidhu, wearing a dark blue suit and a purple turban, in the front row of special guests at the Aiwan-eSadr (the President House).
General Bajwa after arriving at the ceremony went to the front
row of the guests where Sidhu was seated next to PoK president Masood Khan. Gen Bajwa hugged Sidhu and both chatted briefly. Warm smiles were exchanged. As the two chatted, they hugged once more – apparently after Gen Bajwa’s word on Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib where the first Sikh Master spent his last years before his death in 1539.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Speaking to state-run PTV, Sidhu hoped that his friend Imran’s accession to the PM’s post will be good for Pakistan-India peace process. He used his usual poetic expression to praise Khan.
Welcoming Imran Khan’s offer to take two steps towards peace if India took one, Sidhu said he would try to motivate the Indian government to go ahead and take that one step. “Governance is about having the courage to take big decisions. I hope our governments will take these decisions to ensure we swim together in a blue sea meant for all, rather than drown in a red sea of bloodshed.” Sidhu said he has brought “a message of love” to Pakistan as a goodwill ambassador of India. “Hindustan jeevay, Pakistan jeevay,” he chanted while reading a verse. The ties between the two countries had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016 and India’s surgical strikes inside PoK.
The sentencing of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death by a military court in April last year further deteriorated bilateral ties.