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– Indian Foreign Minister quotes "previous commitments, including an election campaign" for not being able to attend a historic ceremony
Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and HS Puri will represent India at the November 28 ceremony, tweete Sushma
-UAE to invest $ 20 billion in Pakistan, says FM Qureshi
ISLAMABAD: Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday rejected Pakistan's invitation to attend the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor because of "previous commitments"; However, she said that two Indian ministers will represent the country at the event in its place.
A few hours after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi extended an invitation to his Indian counterpart, he went to Twitter and apologized for attending the ceremony while expressing his gratitude for this offer.
In a series of tweets, Sushma said that she could not travel to Pakistan on Nov. 28, the date set for the ceremony, adding that ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and HS Puri will represent India when Premier Minister Imran Khan will fail at the Kartarpur facility on Nov. 28
Communiqué of Indian FM Sushma with Pakistani counterpart Qureshi on November 24, 2018
"As I am not able to travel to Kartarpur Sahib on schedule, the Indian Government will be represented by my esteemed colleagues, Ms. Harimrat Kaur Badal and Mr. H.P. Puri, "she tweeted. "I thank HE Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs, for inviting me to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor on November 28, 2018, on the Pakistani side."
I thank the Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, for inviting me to attend the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on the Pakistani side of the international border on November 28, 2018. / 1
– Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) November 24, 2018
Since I can not travel to Kartarpur Sahib on schedule, the Government of India will be represented by my esteemed colleagues, Ms. Harimrat Kaur Badal and Mr. H.S. Puri. / 2
– Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) November 24, 2018
We hope that the Government of Pakistan will speed up the construction of the corridor so that our citizens can pay homage to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib by using the corridor as soon as possible. / 3
– Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) November 24, 2018
The Indian Minister of External Affairs thanked Qureshi for the invitation, hoping that "Pakistan will speed up the construction of the corridor to allow our citizens to pay tribute to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor as soon as possible".
She also advised the Indian media not to "spread misinformation" about the refusal.
Please do not spread misinformation. We welcome this proposal and we send two ministers to represent the Indian Government. https://t.co/Xiciu74ljy
– Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) November 24, 2018
QURESHI SENDS INVITE:
Earlier in the day, Pakistan, by official invitation, asked the Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs to take part in the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur border works, which would facilitate the Sikh pilgrimage trip to Pakistan. .
According to a Qureshi tweet, an invitation was also sent to Punjab Indian Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, a cricket player turned politician.
"On behalf of Pakistan, I invited the Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj @SushmaSwaraj, Capt Amarinder Singh @capt_amarinder & Navjot Singh Sidhu @sherryontopp to the ceremony of inauguration of the works at #Kartarpura on the 28th. November 2018. #PakistanKartarpura, FM Q tweeted.
On behalf of Pakistan, I invited the Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj @SushmaSwaraj , Capt Amarinder Singh @capt_amarinder & Navjot Singh Sidhu @sherryontopp attend the inauguration ceremony at #Kartarpura November 28, 2018.#PakistanKartarpuraSpirit
– Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) November 24, 2018
On Thursday, New Delhi accepted an offer from Islamabad regarding the construction of a new border crossing and a new road connecting their respective provinces to Punjab, thus facilitating the visit of Sikh pilgrims to the Pakistani religious site. and opening the door at the end of the bitter links between Pakistan and India.
The corridor will connect Dera Baba Nanak in the Indian Punjab Gurdaspur at Kartarpur in Pakistan's Narowal district, where Gurdara Darbar Sahib is located – the sanctuary of the venerable Saint Baba Guru Nanak.
The Indian move comes nearly three months after General Qamar Javed Bajwa, army chief, offered to pave the way to ease the task of Sikh pilgrims. At Prime Minister Imran's inauguration on August 18, politician Pakistani Sidhu said Pakistan was ready to pave the way for Gurdara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur for the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak's birth.
India's response to the invitation, as well as its decision to open the border, is seen as a necessary loosening in the icy ties that are tarnished by cross-border redundancies, terrorist sponsorship charges, among others. If Swaraj had agreed to visit Pakistan, this was his first visit after the rise to power of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
After India refused to take into account the proposal of Prime Minister Imran Khan to begin the dialogue process and subsequently canceled a meeting of the two Foreign Ministers on the sidelines of the sessions of the I & 39 General Assembly of the United Nations, tensions between the two countries had reached a new high. However, the new initiative suggests an opportunity for both countries to improve their bitter links.
ENTRY WITHOUT VISA:
During a session of the National Assembly on Friday, the Foreign Minister said that the dialogue was the only way forward to resolve all outstanding disputes with India. .
Information and Broadcasting Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain told reporters on Saturday that the federal cabinet officially approved the opening of the Kartarpur corridor to make life easier for the Sikh community in India.
Fawad Chaudhry said that a visa-free entry would be provided to Sikh pilgrims from India and that a mechanism in this regard is being finalized.
He pointed out that the opening of the Kartarpur corridor is a Pakistani peace initiative aimed at normalizing relations with India, as Islamabad wishes to normalize its relations with New Delhi in order to overcome poverty. This initiative will be pursued with the utmost sincerity.
Kartarpur is a small town in the district of Narowal, 4 km from the border between Pakistan and India, where the founder of the Sikh religion, Baba Guru Nanak, has spent the last 18 years of his life. Subsequently, Gurdwara Darbar Sahab was built on the site of the Pakistani side and Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in India, visited each year by thousands of Sikhs.
WATER INVESTMENT:
In an interview with GNN News, FM Qureshi said the United Arab Emirates would invest $ 20 billion in Pakistan. He expressed confidence that such incentives from friendly countries would reduce the country's reliance on the IMF bailout package.
Qureshi said Prime Minister Khan told Saudi Arabia that Pakistan would remain neutral in the Yemen conflict, which eventually led to a stalemate. Pakistan is ready to play the role of mediator in the relations between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, added the minister.
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