Kartarpur corridor linked to talks, says Pak

ISLAMABAD : The opening of the Kartarpur border corridor for Sikh pilgrims will remain pending if there are no talks between India and Pakistan, the foreign office said on Thursday, asserting dialogue is the only way forward to resolve issues and disputes between the two countries.

Foreign office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal told reporters that Pakistan “could only try” to co-exist peacefully with its neighbour.

Responding to a question about opening of the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims, Faisal said nothing can happen if there are no talks between the two countries. He, however, reiterated Pakistan’s stance to hold talks with India to resolve all outstanding issues, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

Kartarpur is situated in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province, close to Indo-Pak border. It was established in 1522 by first Sikh Guru Nanak Dev, who spent last years of his life here.

Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib was built here, which is about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had attended Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony in Islamabad in August, had said that their army chief hinted at opening of the route to Kartarpur on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, which will be observed in November 2019.