Thursday, Apr 18, 2024 | Last Update : 10:09 AM IST
Pakistan yet to address ‘concerns’ over Kartarpur: India
This effectively had meant then that the talks that were supposed to take place on April 2 at Wagah in Pakistan between the two sides stood scrapped.
New Delhi: With Pakistan yet to respond to India’s concerns over Khalistani propaganda, which had scuttled the next round of talks on the Kartarpur Sahib corridor that were to take place on April 2 at Wagah in Pakistani Punjab, foreign policy watchers feel the next round of talks between the two countries on the matter may now take place only after the general elections in India under the next government.
It may be recalled that “in order to take forward the infrastructural development for the corridor in an expeditious manner,” India had nevertheless proposed to hold another meeting of technical experts in mid-April to resolve outstanding issues at the zero point agreed to during the previous meeting in March.
Significantly on Thursday, the MEA (ministry of external affairs) confirmed that there had been no response by Pakistan so far over the Indian concerns, which were conveyed to that country on March 29.
Meanwhile, New Delhi is moving at a breakneck speed to construct the corridor on its territory (Indian Punjab) by September, ahead of the visit of the Indian Sikh pilgrims to the historic Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara near the border in Pakistani Punjab in November this year.
On March 29, government sources had said that India had “called in” Pakistani deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah and conveyed to him the concerns over the appointment of known pro-Khalistan people like (Pakistani Sikh) Gopal Singh Chawla and others on a committee on the Kartarpur pilgrimage and sought to know the role that they would be playing.
India had told Pakistan that it awaits its response on the Indian concerns following which the next date for talks on the Kartarpur corridor could be decided.
This effectively had meant then that the talks that were supposed to take place on April 2 at Wagah in Pakistan between the two sides stood scrapped.
Meanwhile, India is understood to be continuing its global diplomatic efforts to ensure that the Pakistan-based terrorist, JeM chief Masood Azhar, is designated as a global terrorist by the UN. China has so far been blocking this.
