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India announced on Saturday that ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri represented the country at the opening ceremony by Pakistan of a corridor leading to Kartapur Gurdwara, first high-level contact between the two parties after months of tight relationships.
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's announcement on Twitter came hours after Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also invited her to a tweet at the ceremony. November 28th. In a tweet, Swaraj said, "We welcome this proposal and send two ministers".
Swaraj tweeted that she would be "unable to travel" to Kartarpur on Nov. 28 and that the Indian side would be represented by the Minister of Food Processing, Badal, and the State Minister of Housing and Housing. Urban Affairs, Puri.
People aware of the developments have said that Swaraj could not travel to Pakistan that day because of previous engagements, including his participation in the Telangana election campaign. They said the decision to send the ministers was taken in light of the importance of facilitating access to the Kartarpur Shrine for Sikh pilgrims.
Qureshi had also invited the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh and State Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to the ceremony, but it was not clear at the moment to know if they would do so. also part of the Indian delegation.
The Indian side also told Pakistan that the construction of the corridor on the Pakistani side should be accelerated so that Sikh pilgrims can use it "as soon as possible," the locals said.
On Thursday, India and Pakistan announced that they would create corridors on either side of the border to facilitate visa-free visits of Indian pilgrims to Kartarpur Gurdwara, located 120 km from Lahore. on the banks of the Ravi River.
Gurdwara, built on the site of Guru Nanak's death, is about four kilometers from Dera Baba Nanak Shrine in India. This decision comes before the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak in 2019.
The request to build a corridor connecting the Gurdaspur Indian Border District to the historic Gurdwara has long been in existence by the Sikh community. General Qamar Bajwa, head of the Pakistani army, told Sidhu on the sidelines of Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony last August that Islamabad was planning to open a corridor for Indian pilgrims.
This will be the first high-level contact between the two sides since India canceled a scheduled meeting of US foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September due to concerns related to terrorism.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the fall of the Berlin Wall to discuss the potential ramifications of the Kartarpur corridor. "Who thought the Berlin Wall would fall? Perhaps, with the blessings of Guru Nanak Devji, the Kartarpur Hallway will not only be a hallway but can also be a reason to bring people together, "he said at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, in New Delhi, at the Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Mr. Qureshi, while informing the National Assembly the same day, said that Prime Minister Khan would inaugurate the inauguration ceremony on November 28. He said this decision reflected the importance that Pakistan attaches to "all minorities".
"The Kartarpur spirit of Pakistan can be a step in the right direction, from conflict to cooperation, from animosity to peace and from enmity to friendship," he added.
First published: Nov. 24, 2018 21:07 IST
