'Baseless and fallacious': Pakistan responds to Indian claims on Kartarpur Corridor
The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday rejected the "baseless and fallacious propaganda" by the Indian government regarding the Kartarpur Corridor, adding that the claims had also been refuted by the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC).
"The malicious propaganda by the Indian government is simply an attempt to malign the 'peace corridor' initiative by casting mischievous aspersions against the interests of the Sikh community and to detract attention from the reprehensible violation of human rights of minorities in India," said FO spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri in a statement.
Earlier today, India Today reported that Pakistan had transferred the management and maintenance of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib from the PSGPC — the representative body of Sikh Pakistanis — to a "non-Sikh body".
“Such actions only expose the reality of the Pakistani government and its leadership’s tall claims of preserving and protecting the rights and welfare of the religious minority communities,” a statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said.
In a statement released shortly after, the FO spokesman said that the PSGPC remained responsible for carrying out rituals at the gurdwara as per Sikh code of conduct.
"The Project Management Unit (PMU), under the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), has simply been created to facilitate the committee in this regard.
"Any insinuations regarding 'transferring' the affairs of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib from the PSGPC to the PMU are not only contrary to the facts, but are also aimed at creating religious disharmony by the Hindutva-driven BJP government in India," the FO spokesman said.
The Sikh community from all over the world remains greatly appreciative of the efforts made by Pakistan to complete the Kartarpur Corridor project in record time and for the excellent arrangements made to facilitate the pilgrims, the statement read.
"India would be well advised to take steps to protect its minorities and their places of worship, rather than feigning misleading and sham concerns for the rights of minorities elsewhere," he said.
