Over 2,000 Sikh yatrees attend Baisakhi Mela at Kartarpur
NAROWAL (92 News) – Over 2,000 Sikh yatrees from across the world attended Baisakhi Mela at Kartapur on Friday.
On their arrival, they were served ‘Langar’, fruits and soft drinks. They performed their religious rituals. Medical camps were set up to provide healthcare facilities to the yatrees.
Talking to 92 News, the yatrees said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had won the heart of the Sikh community by opening the border. “Minorities enjoy complete religious freedom in Pakistan,” they said.
They said that Pakistan had completed 70 percent of the corridor and now it is India’s responsibility to expedite the work.
The Sikh yatrees will return to India through special trains after completing their visit on Sunday.
On Thursday, while talking to the journalists about Kartarpur Corridor, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Dr Faisal Mohammad Faisal hoped that India would agree to a meeting with Pakistan at the earliest to finalize the draft for operationalization of the corridor.
He said work is proceeding rapidly on our side as per the commitment made by Prime Minister Imran Khan for operationalization of the Kartarpur corridor.
Kartarpur: Pakistan accepts India’s proposal for technical meeting
Earlier, Pakistan accepted the Indian proposal for a technical meeting regarding Kartarpur corridor on April 16.
This was stated by Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal in a tweet today. He said Pakistan is continuing its spirit of constructive engagement.
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan expects positivity from India so that the corridor becomes reality for 550th celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak.
“Continuing with #Pakistan’s spirit of constructive engagement, we have agreed to the Indian proposal for a technical meeting on 16 April. We expect positivity from #India so that the corridor becomes reality for 550th celebrations. #PakistanKartarpurSpirit,” he tweeted.
Earlier, Pakistan has regretted the Indian decision to postpone the upcoming Kartarpur meeting which was scheduled to be held at Wagah.
In a tweet today, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said last minute postponment without seeking views from Pakistan and especially after the productive technical meeting on 19th of this month, is comprehensible.
The first meeting between the two sides on Kartarpur corridor was held at Wagah-Attari border on 14th of this month in which both sides had agreed to work expeditiously towards operationalization of the Corridor.
It is pertinent to mention here that the move came a day after the FO said its preliminary probe into the Pulwama attack failed to establish any link between Pakistan and the February 14 suicide bombing.
The FO spokesperson’s statement was issued following Indian Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi sought “clarifications from Pakistan on key proposals put forward by India at the last meeting held in Attari to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor”.
“India has also shared concerns and sought clarifications on reports that controversial elements have been appointed by Pakistan to a committee to be associated with the Kartarpur Corridor.”
New Delhi said the meeting will be scheduled after Pakistan responds to its concerns. “Meanwhile, in order to take forward the infrastructure development for the Corridor in an expeditious manner, India has proposed to hold another meeting of techncial experts in mid-April to resolve outstanding issues at the zero point agreed to at the last meeting.”
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