ISLAMABAD: The talks on the Kartarpur Corridor agreement, which survived the post-Pulwama military standoff, suffered a setback as India pulled out of the second round of talks scheduled at Wagah for April 2.

In its immediate reaction, the Foreign Office (FO) regretted the postponement of the talks and said that the meeting had been meant to address outstanding issues.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said that it had concerns over the appointment by Pakistan of controversial figures in the Kartarpur committee; it had sought clarifications from Islamabad on the issue and the difference in positions on other issues discussed at the meeting held at Attari on March 14.

FO regrets postponement of talks scheduled for April 2

“The next meeting on the modalities can be scheduled at an appropriate time after receiving Pakistan’s response,” the MEA said in a statement.

The concerns were conveyed by the MEA to Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner in Delhi.

The Pakistan government had constituted a 10-member Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee to facilitate Sikh pilgrims after the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor.

At the first meeting held at Attari in connection with Kartarpur agreement, India demanded that the minimum number of pilgrims crossing the corridor to visit the shrine in Pakistan be raised to 5,000 and on special days like Gurpurab and Baisakhi, 10,000 pilgrims should be allowed. The country wanted the corridor to remain open throughout the year, and made the demand that pilgrims intending to visit the shrine on foot should be allowed to do so without any documentation requirements.

Pakistan was to respond to the Indian proposals at the upcoming meeting.

FO spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal, who is also Pakistan’s focal person for the Kartarpur Corridor agreement negotiations, tweeted: “Pakistan regrets the Indian decision to postpone the upcoming Kartarpur meeting, jointly agreed [upon] by both sides on 14 March, 2019. The meeting was to discuss and find consensus on outstanding issues.” “[The] last minute postponement without seeking views from Pakistan and especially after the productive technical meeting on 19 March is incomprehensible.”

The first meeting was reportedly held in a cordial environment, and the talks were described as constructive. A joint statement was issued and both countries agreed to make the passage operational at the earliest.

Despite postponing the meeting, the MEA made it clear that it was not walking away from the process. “The government of India remains committed to realise the long-pending demand of Indian pilgrims to visit the holy Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor in a safe, secure, smooth and easy manner,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, another technical-level meeting of experts was proposed for mid-April for continuing with the discussions on infrastructure development for the corridor and resolving outstanding issues.

The corridor is to provide visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to Kartarpur Gurdwara, and meant to be operational in November — on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2019