ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: In a major goodwill gesture, Pakistan and India on Saturday invited each other’s leaders to the groundbreaking ceremonies of the Kartarpur corridor being held across the border on Monday followed by the other on the Pakistani side on Wednesday.

The Pakistan government invited Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Indian Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu besides 17 Indian journalists to the Kartarpur corridor groundbreaking ceremony on Nov 28, whereas the Indian Punjab government invited Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, to the event scheduled for Nov 26 on their side.

Lying dormant due to the tense relations between the two countries since 1988, the proposal to construct the corridor providing visa-free access to Sikh pilgrims had been renewed by the Pakistan army chief in August this year.

• Sushma Swaraj says she can’t travel to Pakistan on scheduled date • Islamabad extends invitation to Indian Punjab CM, Congress leader Sidhu • Pervaiz Elahi requested to join ceremony across the border tomorrow

“On behalf of Pakistan, I have extended an invitation to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Capt Amarinder Singh, and Navjot Singh Sidhu to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at Kartarpur on Nov 28,” said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

However, Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj will be unable to attend due to her “prior commitments”, an Indian source said. In her place, two of her cabinet colleagues would attend the ceremony. Indian Minister for Food Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Housing Minister Hardeep S. Puri will represent their country at the groundbreaking ceremony in Pakistan.

In a late night tweet, Ms Swaraj said: “I thank HE Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi Foreign Minister of Pakistan for inviting me to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur Sahib corridor on the Pakistan side of the international boundary on 28 Nov 2018. Since I am unable to travel to Kartarpur Sahib on the scheduled date, Government of India will be represented by my esteemed colleagues Mrs Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Mr H.S. Puri.”

The Indian minister also tweeted: “We hope that the Government of Pakistan will expedite construction of the corridor in order to ensure that our citizens can pay their respects at the Gurudwara Karatpur Sahib using the corridor as soon as possible.”

Besides the politicians, an Indian media delegation comprising 17 senior journalists and editors of leading media houses has also been invited to attend the ceremony, said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, adding they were expected to reach Lahore on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will perform the groundbreaking of the four-km-long corridor connecting Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Gurdaspur district with Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan. The corridor will provide visa-free access to the Indian Sikh pilgrims to the shrine.

While the idea was shared by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa with the Congress leader and Indian Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu during his visit to Pakistan in August for attending Prime Minister Imran Khan’s inauguration, the Pakistan government announced the date for the groundbreaking ceremony of the corridor only this week after the Indian Union cabinet agreed to avail the offer of the passageway in view of the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of the Sikh faith, Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, next year.

Interestingly, the 549th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak had commenced just last Friday (Nov 23) for which Pakistan had issued 3,838 visas to the Sikh Yatrees from India.

According to the proposal, the Indian government will construct and develop the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Indian Punjab’s Gurdaspur district to the border, while Pakistan will build the other part of the corridor connecting the border to the Gurdwara in the Kartarpur Sahib area of Narowal district.

So far, the Congress leader and Punjab minister Mr Sidhu is the only politician to have confirmed his participation in the ceremony at Kartarpur.

On Saturday, Indian Punjab senior minister Gurmeet Singh Sodhi telephoned Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and extended the invitation on behalf of Indian Punjab CM Amarinder Singh for the ceremony scheduled for Monday.

However, Mr Elahi, who credited the premier and the army chief for the progress on the corridor opening, may not attend the ceremony in India, according to spokesperson of his party Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q).

Mr Elahi was quoted as saying that he “will visit India after CM Amarinder Singh comes here.”

Mr Singh had visited Lahore earlier in 2005 on the invitation of Mr Elahi, who was then the chief minister of Punjab, for laying the foundation stone of the Wagah-to-Nankana Sahib dual carriageway. Nankana Sahib got its district status and the road up to Gurdwara Kartarpur was completed during Mr Elahi’s tenure as chief minister. A bus service between Lahore and Amritsar was also launched later.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2018