Pakistan on Sunday said tensions with India would not affect the Kartarpur corridor project. Firdous Ashiq Awan, a special assistant to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, said in a tweet that the project would be completed by the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in November, The Indian Express reported.
New Delhi and Islamabad laid the foundation stone last November. The corridor will connect Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab with the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in the Kartarpur area of Pakistan’s Narowal district. The corridor will allow Indian Sikh devotees to travel to the pilgrimage site without visas.
Awan said Kartarpur, the final resting place of Guru Nanak, was sacred for Sikhs and the perfect example of interfaith harmony. She said Pakistan’s doors would always be open for Sikhs visiting the religious site irrespective of its relations with India. “In the world of growing extremism and intolerance, Kartarpur corridor resonates the message of respect and tolerance,” Awan said, according to PTI.
Awan added that Imran Khan was committed to protecting the rights of minorities in Pakistan.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated earlier this month after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status. In response, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with India, approached the United Nations Security Council and cut off trade with India. Islamabad also raised the Kashmir matter at the United Nations.
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