India Friday summoned Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner here and conveyed concerns over the alleged presence of several Khalistani separatists in a committee appointed by Pakistan on the Kartarpur Corridor, sources said.
India also asked the Pakistani deputy high commissioner SyedHaider Shah his country’s stand on key proposals put forward by New Delhi atthe last meeting held in Attari to discuss the modalities of the KartarpurSahib Corridor, they said.
A ministry of external affairs (MEA) statement said it hasbeen conveyed to the Paksitani side that the next meeting on the modalities ofthe corridor can be scheduled at an appropriate time after receiving Pakistan’sresponse.
The next round of talks was scheduled to be held on April 2at the Wagah border.
In order to take forward the infrastructure development forthe corridor in an expeditious manner, India has proposed to hold anothermeeting of technical experts in mid-April to resolve outstanding issues at thezero-point agreed to at the last meeting, the statement said.
The Indian government remains committed to realising thelong-pending demand of the Indian pilgrims to visit the Gurudwara KartarpurSahib using the corridor in a safe, secure, smooth and easy manner, it said.
India has asked Pakistan to allow pilgrims to travel onfoot, if they wish. It also urged that another 10,000 pilgrims be allowedaccess on festivals like Baisakhi and Gurupurab.
Last November, India and Pakistan agreed to set up theborder crossing linking Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final restingplace of Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine inIndia’s Gurdaspur district.
Kartarpur Sahib is located in Pakistan’s Narowal districtacross the river Ravi, about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.
Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab chief ministerAmarinder Singh had on November 26 last year laid the foundation stone of theKartarpur corridor in Gurdaspur district.
Two days later, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan laidthe foundation stone of the corridor in Narowal, 125 km from Lahore.
‘INDIA’S DECISION INCOMPREHENSIBLE’
Meanwhile, Pakistan Friday described as “incomprehensible”India’s decision to reschedule the upcoming meeting of the experts on theKartarpur Corridor.
The Pakistani Cabinet constituted a 10-member Pakistan SikhGurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) to facilitate Sikh pilgrims after openingof Kartarpur Corridor, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
However, it did not name the members of the committee.
The next meeting of technical experts on the Kartarpurcorridor was earlier scheduled in Wagah on the Pakistani side of the border onApril 2 and was “jointly agreed by both sides” on March 14, the Pakistanforeign office said here.
“The meeting was to discuss and find consensus onoutstanding issues,” Mohammad Faisal, the spokesperson of the ministry offoreign affairs, tweeted following a statement from Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA) on Friday.
“Last-minute postponement without seeking views fromPakistan and especially after the productive technical meeting on March 19 isincomprehensible,” Faisal tweeted.
Faisal’s response comes shortly after India said it had “sought clarifications from Pakistan on key proposals put forward by India at the last meeting held in Attari to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor”.