Islamabad, Dec 01: Pakistan Foreign Office on Saturday expressed disappointment at the “relentless negative propaganda campaign” being “waged by a section of the Indian media against Pakistan” on the Kartarpur Corridor initiative.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who completed 100 days in office on Wednesday, performed the groundbreaking of the long-awaited corridor connecting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Narowal district to Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Gurdaspur district.
Khan used the ceremony, also attended by two Union ministers from India, Harsimrat Kaur and Hardeep Singh Puri, along with Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, to call for steps to resume bilateral talks, including on the Kashmir issue, receiving a sharp reaction from New Delhi which regretted that he used the pious occasion to make unwarranted references to Kashmir.
The ceremony held to mark the historic event and the speeches delivered there had come under severe criticism in certain sections of the Indian media — much to the “dismay” of the FO.
“We have received overwhelmingly positive response from the Sikh community — not only in India and Pakistan but also from across the globe,” the FO said in a statement.
“The government and people of Pakistan fully share their joy on this historic breakthrough and solemnly affirm that they will make every possible contribution to a befitting celebration of the auspicious occasion of Baba Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary in 2019.”
The FO affirmed that it will not be deterred by unwarranted criticism from across the border.
“We are convinced that those seeking to sow negativity around this initiative for partisan purposes or due to their known anti-Pakistan proclivities will not succeed in their designs,” it said.
“The Government of Pakistan will continue to do what is right for advancing this noble initiative. We also look forward to working out necessary details and modalities with the Indian side concerning the passage through the Corridor.”
The Foreign Office hailed the event as “another moment of hope for the peoples of India and Pakistan” and hoped that “every effort would be made to preserve and take forward the Kartarpur Spirit”.
