- Depite negative signals from BJP government
The Indian Sikh community had longed for decades to be able to visit Gurdawara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan where Guru Nanak spent the last eighteen years of his life. The place is four kilometers from Indian side but there is no border crossing amywhere in the vicinity. The agreement between Pakistan and India to construct a corridor to allow visa free entry to Sikh yatrees visitng the shrine was enthusiastically welcomed by the Sikh community across the border as well as from all over the world. Hopes were expressed that the corridor, which is to be completed in about six months, would prove a first step towards improvement of Pak-India relations.
Imran Khan delivered a balanced address after a long time at the foundation laying ceremony of the corridor. He underlined the need for improving Pak-India relations, argued that mutual trade and cooperation was vital for alleviation of poverty and improvement in social conditions. It would be sheer madness, said Khan, for two nuclear armed countries even to think of war. What is more the Kashmir issue should be resolved through talks. He reiterated his earlier stand that if India moved one step, Pakistan would move two to meet it. He made it clear that his government, the opposition and military establishment were all on one page over the issue of peace with India.
Meanwhile negative signals continue to emanate from the Modi government. Sushma Swaraj declined to attend the corridor opening function. A day later she rejected Pakistan’s invitation to PM Modi to attend the Saarc summit indicating that India was bent upon wrecking the alliance that had been formed to promote regional cooperation. Again she insisted that the Kartarpur corridor could not be linked with Pak-India talks which will not be held as long as terrorism was not controlled. Whether this refusal to talk will continue even after the Indian elections next year is anyone’s guess.
Opening the corridor was a right decision as this was a step towards promoting people to people relations between the two countries. Pakistan should meanwhile keep the door for talks with India open, hoping that the situation on ground might force the neighbouring country to review its policy in days to come.
