Talks on Kartarpur positive: Faisal
LAHORE: Ater the third round of talks on the Kartarpur corridor held between India and Pakistan at Atari near the Wagha border on Wednesday, Pakistan said that it has completed 90 per cent of the work on its part, and is confident that the corridor will be opened by November on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said that barring two or three points, the talks were positive, despite prevailing tensions between the two countries over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a post-meeting press briefing at the Wagah border, Faisal said that Pakistan had taken unprecedented steps to facilitate the Sikh pilgrims. He urged India to show flexibility and leave political rhetoric aside.
“We have shown a lot of flexibility. We are hopeful that if a litle flexibility comes from India, the work will get done,” said Faisal.
He said India was responsible for completing its part of the work on the corridor, and that the work from Pakistan’s side was almost complete.
In the third round of talks, the two sides agreed to establish a direct line of communication between India’s Border Security Force and the Pakistan Rangers to handle emergencies.
Pakistanalsoagreedtomakesufficientprovision for ‘langars’ (community kitchens) for the devotees.
During the talks, the two sides agreed on visa-free travel by Indian pilgrims – in groups and as individuals. The corridor will be open all year round for 5,000 pilgrims every day, Faisal said, adding that the pilgrims will be provided Langar and Prasad.
Faisal said that Islamabad has invited the Indian side for a final meeting to resolve the remaining sticking points.
The Kartarpur corridor will provide Indian Sikhs visa-free access to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan.
A day earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that his government would issue multiple and on-arrival visas to Sikh pilgrims coming from India and abroad and provide them maximum possible facilities during their visit to the holy sites. Four days before this high-level meeting, officials of India and Pakistan met for the fourth phase of technical modalities for the corridor.
In the meeting, India shared details about the significant progress it has made in building the necessary infrastructure on its side to handle the pilgrims.