Manmohan won’t attend Kartarpur inauguration

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would not attend the inauguration ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan but would go there as a common pilgrim, sources close to him said on Sunday after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi claimed that he has accepted his invitation to attend the scheduled opening. Singh would be a part of Sikh Jatha delegation led by Punjab CM. They will pay obeisance at the shrine and return.

NEW DELHI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh would not attend the inauguration ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan but would go there as a common pilgrim, sources close to him said on Sunday after Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi claimed that he has accepted his invitation to attend the scheduled opening.

Qureshi told reporters in his home town Multan on Saturday that Singh has accepted his invitation and would attend the scheduled opening as a common man rather than as a special guest, Dawn newspaper reported.

Sources close to Singh in New Delhi said that the former prime minister would not attend the former inauguration ceremony. In a letter in response to the invite sent to him by Pakistani authorities, Singh has said he would not attend the formal inauguration, but would visit the historic shrine as a common pilgrim, sources said.

Pak to open Corridor on Nov 9

Pakistan will open the much-awaited Kartarpur Corridor on November 9, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Sunday. The proposed corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak Dev.

Pak demands $20 fee

The online registration of devotees visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur could not be started on Sunday as India and Pakistan have not yet agreed upon on a number of issues, including Islamabad’s insistence of charging USD 20 from each pilgrim, officials said.

India and Pakistan were supposed to sign a pact on Saturday on a few unresolved issues of the pilgrimage, but that did not happen yet.