‘If Berlin Wall can go, so can Indo-Pak mistrust’
The mistrust between India and Pakistan can be removed through revisiting the message of peace and love, Union minister for food processing industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal said on Wednesday at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the Kartarpur corridor.
“If the Berlin Wall can fall, then the mistrust between two neighbours can also be removed through the message spread by Guru Nanak,” Harsimrat said.
“We have been so close, but so far for 70 years. Scores of Sikhs are on this journey for the first time today. I have no friends, no relatives here (in Pakistan). I never thought I would be here,” she added.
Harsimrat and Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri represented India at the event which was also attended by Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu who happens to be a friend of Prime Minister Khan.
“Guru Nanak spent 18 years of his life at Kartarpur & spread his message of peace and love. Today is historic not just for the Sikh community, but for the people and the governments of India and Pakistan,” an emotional Harsimrat said.
“When we laid the foundation stone (for the corridor) in Indian Punjab, I saw the corridor becoming a reality there and now I am seeing it here. Today this corridor will bring everyone together ... It will bring joy and peace to both countries. I beseech you to issue postage stamps or coins to commemorate Guru Nanak,” the Union minister said.
India had proposed the construction of the corridor to Pakistan’s Kartarpur nearly 20 years back.