India Conveys Concerns Over Khalistani Leaders on Kartarpur Panel

File photo of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur used for representational purposes.

(Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/Altered by The Quint)

India on Friday, 29 March, summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner and conveyed concerns over the presence of several Khalistani separatists in a committee appointed by Pakistan on the Kartarpur Corridor, sources said.

India also asked Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah his country's stand on on key proposals put forward by New Delhi at the last meeting held in Attari to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, they said.

A Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement said it has been conveyed to the Pakistani side that the next meeting on the modalities of the corridor can be scheduled at an appropriate time after receiving Pakistan's response.

The next round of talks were scheduled to be held on 2 April at Wagah border.

In order to take forward the infrastructure development for the corridor in an expeditious manner, India has proposed to hold another meeting of technical experts in mid-April to resolve outstanding issues at the zero point agreed to at the last meeting, the statement said.

The Indian government remains committed to realising the long pending demand of the Indian pilgrims to visit the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor in a safe, secure, smooth and easy manner, it said.

India has asked Pakistan to allow pilgrims to travel on foot, if they wish. It also urged that another 10,000 pilgrims be allowed access on festivals like Baisakhi and Gurupurab.

‘India's Decision Incomprehensible’

Pakistan, meanwhile, described as "incomprehensible" India's decision to reschedule the upcoming meeting of the experts on the Kartarpur Corridor.

The Pakistani Cabinet constituted a ten-member Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) to facilitate Sikh pilgrims after opening of Kartarpur Corridor, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

However, it did not name the members of the committee.

“The meeting was to discuss and find consensus on outstanding issues,” Mohammad Faisal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tweeted following a statement from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday.

"Last minute postponement without seeking views from Pakistan and especially after the productive technical meeting on March 19 is incomprehensible," Faisal tweeted.

Last November, India and Pakistan agreed to set up the border crossing linking Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district.

Kartarpur Sahib is located in Pakistan’s Narowal district across the river Ravi, about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on November 26 last year laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor in Gurdaspur district.

Two days later, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the corridor in Narowal, 125 km from Lahore.

(With inputs from PTI)