Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Thursday that Pakistan has not yet responded to the clarifications India had sought on some proposals it had put forward during a meeting between the two countries on the Kartarpur corridor on March 14.
“We had issued a press statement when we postponed the second round of talks,” Kumar said at a press conference. “I think it is important to remember that we remain committed to realise the wishes and aspirations of the people...the aspirations which flow out of a pending demand of Indian pilgrims to visit the holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor.”
Kumar was responding to a question whether Islamabad has responded to New Delhi on the concerns expressed regarding the presence of Khalistani sympathisers in a committee Pakistan has formed for the project. The talks, which were supposed to be held on April 2, were postponed on March 29.
“At the same time you are aware that there are certain things which came to our notice,” he added. “We had sought clarifications from Pakistan on a number of issues. Those clarifications still remain unaddressed by Pakistan. We had also shared our concerns on reports that controversial elements have been appointed by Pakistan to a committee which was to be associated with Kartarpur corridor. We are yet to receive a response from Pakistan.”
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal had said on March 29 that Islamabad regrets New Delhi’s decision to postpone the meeting. He called India’s decision incomprehensible.
In November 2018, New Delhi and Islamabad laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor project, which will connect Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab with the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Pakistan’s Narowal district. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, died in Kartarpur in 1539. The corridor will allow Indian Sikh devotees to travel without visas to the pilgrimage site.
India and Pakistani officials held their first meeting on the Kartarpur corridor on March 14 in Attari. India urged Pakistan to provide visa-free access to 5,000 pilgrims a day initially, on all days of the week, to the Kartarpur shrine.
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