ISLAMABAD: A day after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said India is planning aggression against Pakistan again, the Foreign Office on Monday accepted Indian suggestion of holding technical talks on Kartarpur Corridor on April 16.

“Continuing with Pakistan’s spirit of constructive engagement, we have agreed to the Indian proposal for a technical meeting on 16 April. We expect positivity from India so that the corridor becomes reality for 550th celebrations,” FO spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal tweeted.

The discussions on the agreement, which would govern Kartarpur Corridor operations, suffered a setback last week when India pulled out of the planned second round of talks at Wagah that had been scheduled for April 2.

India had postponed the meeting on the allegations that Pakistan had appointed controversial pro-Khalistani figures in the Kartarpur committee.

India had further contended that Pakistan needed to give its position on other logistical issues on which the two sides had differed at the first meeting held at Attari on March 14.

These outstanding issues included the number of pilgrims, keeping the corridor open round the year, permitting pilgrims to travel on foot, and ending documentation requirement.

India, while postponing the meeting, reaffirmed its interest in the discussions on the project for the realisation of what was said to be its “long pending demand of the Indian pilgrims to visit the holy Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor in a safe, secure, smooth and easy manner” and had proposed another technical level meeting of experts for mid-April.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs had said that the next technical meeting would continue with the discussions on infrastructure development for the corridor and resolving outstanding issues.

Even as officials and technical experts fight out on the minute details of the under negotiation agreement, construction work on the corridor is reportedly continuing in full swing on both sides so that it is ready for opening by November when Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary celebrations begin.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2019