With Pakistan deciding to invite Manmohan Singh to attend the inaugural ceremony of the landmark Kartarpur Corridor in November, the former prime minister's office said it has no information about the invite so far.
Sources quoted by PTI, meanwhile, indicate that he is unlikely to attend the event.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said on Monday, 30 September, that Pakistan has decided to invite Singh to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor.
The Congress party has remained tight-lipped about the issue.
The sources said he is unlikely to go as he had not visited Pakistan even during his tenure as prime minister for 10 years.
What Did Qureshi Tell Reporters?
"The Kartarpur corridor inauguration is a big programme and Pakistan is preparing for it in a big way. We have decided to invite India's former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to grace the event... We will send a formal letter to him soon," Qureshi told Capital TV.
He said Singh represents the Sikh community.
“We are also very happy to receive the Sikh pilgrims who are coming to Kartarpur to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak,” Qureshi said.
The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will only have to obtain a permit to visit the revered Kartarpur Sahib.
Pakistan is scheduled to open the Kartarpur Corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims on 9 November, days ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of first Sikh guru Baba Nanak on 1 November.
(With inputs from PTI)
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