The Punjab chief minister, Captain Amarinder Singh has on Sunday, declined to lay foundation stone at Kartarput corridor and Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s invitation to attend the ceremony on November 28, where Prime Minister Imran Khan with others officials would lay the foundation stones. However, Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu will attend the ceremony as he has accepted the invitation.
In a detailed letter, Amarinder has cited the terrorist attacks in Punjab and the killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistan armed forces, as a reason for declining the invitation.
Amarinder wrote: “Not a day passes when Indian soldiers are not killed or wounded on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Rather than moving towards normalcy these incidents are escalating.”
Amarinder further wrote:“I hope the Prime Minister will understand that under these circumstances it will not be possible for me to be present in Pakistan on this historic occasion despite the fact that paying my respects at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib has always been my cherished dream which will hopefully be fulfilled once these hostilities and killings are stopped.”
However, on November 26, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu arrived in Gurdaspur to lay foundation stone for the much-awaited construction corridor between Dera Baba Nanak, Punjab and Kartarour Sahib gurudwara in Narowal, Pakistan. Along with Naidu, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, union transport minister Nitin Gadkari and union minister of food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal are also present at the ceremony.
According to news report, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf member, Ramesh Kumar Vankwani said, “In my view, the journey of regional peace and stability must not be limited to one corridor. This should be the first step towards the right direction for opening of hundreds of peace corridors.”