Now, Harsimrat writes to Sushma on corridor

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 14

Days after Punjab Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu wrote to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the Kartarpur corridor, Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has sent a letter to her.

In the letter dated September 12, Harsimrat stated that the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor had been a long-pending demand of her party, Shiromani Akali Dal, and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

“Some statements have appeared in media by a minister of the Punjab Government who had visited Pakistan recently, claiming that the Pakistan Government had agreed and given permission for opening the passage to Sri Kartarpur Sahib gurudwara and it is now up to the Government of India to decide. To verify the truth and veracity of this claim, I want to know if the Pakistan Government or their military head has consented to opening the corridor or given any indication of their willingness to do so to the Indian Government,” asks Harsimrat in the letter, without naming Sidhu who was in Islamabad in August for Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Sidhu had claimed later that Pakistan’s Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had indicated that the matter was under consideration. However, so far, Pakistan has said no such formal request has been received from the Indian Foreign Ministry nor has Islamabad sent a formal proposal on the matter. On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson when asked about any formal communication from India replied he had no information about it. Earlier this month, in his letter to Sushma, Sidhu had written that India should make all possible efforts in response to Pakistan’s positive intent towards opening the corridor.