Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday said that Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid’s disclosure that the Kartarpur Corridor was the ‘brainchild’ of their Army Chief General QamarBajwa and that it will “hurt India forever” exposes Islamabad’s nefarious intent behind the initiative, reported The Indian Express.

Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid had said, ““India will remember forever the kind of wound inflicted on it by Gen Bajwa by opening Kartarpur corridor. Gen Bajwa strongly hit India by opening the corridor. Through this project, Pakistan has created a new environment of peace and won itself love of the Sikh community.”

The statement is likely to ruffle feathers at the very top, especially when the Kartarpur corridor was seen as a bridge of peace between the two sparring countries.

Strongly condemning Rashid’s statement that the corridor would hurt India forever, Amarinder said it was an “open and blatant threat” against India’s security and integrity. He warned Pakistan to not attempt in any untoward action, and in case it did, it would get a befitting reply from India. He also said that any such attempt by Islamabad will meet “retaliation of the kind” that Pakistan would never be able to survive.

The Hindustan Times reported that Amarinder Singh in his statement said that though, as a Sikh, he was happy about opening of the Corridor, the threat it posed to India couldn’t be ignored. He had urged constant caution in the matter saying that through this corridor, Pakistan was trying to win over the sympathies of the Sikhs.

CM Singh said the endeavour of Pakistan of gaining a foothold with the Sikhs was evident in the fact that General Bajwa had disclosed the decision of building the corridor to then Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu at the time of Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister.

He asked Sidhu to be cautious in his dealings with the Pakistan government, urging him to keep his personal equation with the PM aside and not allow it to cloud its judgment in any way that could harm India’s interests.

Pakistan Railway Minister @ShkhRasheed’s disclosure on Kartarpur Corridor has exposed their nefarious designs, says Chief Minister @capt_amarinder Singh. CM warns Pakistan against indulging in any misadventure, says it will be met with strong retaliation from India.
…(1/2)

— Government of Punjab (@PunjabGovtIndia) December 1, 2019

Just before the opening of the corridor on November 9 this year, an official familiar with project planning had highlighted specific threats from entities like Khalistan Liberation Force, BabbarKhalsa, Sikhs for Justice, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The official had also stated that it had asked Pakistan to ensure that the corridor wasn’t used for anti-India activities or propaganda.

When posters featuring Khalistani separatists Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Major General Shabeg Singh and Amrik Singh Khalsa featured in a video welcoming Sikh pilgrims earlier this month, Capt. Singh had told reporters in Chandigarh that Pakistan was trying to foment trouble and misusing the corridor by trying to revive Sikh militancy in Punjab.

In Pakistan, the influence of the Army over the government has always been quite apparent. The opening of the Kartarpur corridor that was supposed to be the initiative of Imran Khan to improve ties with India, has now emerged to be the brainchild of General Bajwa. It was also an initiative that drew high praise for the Pakistan prime minister. It has now also come to light that the initiative to open the corridor came from elsewhere: General Bajwa, who has now gotten a three year extension as Army chief from the end of his tenure in 2019, though signed off by Imran Khan ordered this opening!

Khan has also always come across as a ‘selected PM’ instead of an ‘elected PM’ due to the invisible running of the government by the Army.

The opening of the Kartarpur corridor on Guru Nanak Dev’s 550^th birth anniversary, that connects Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district in India with the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara in Narowal, Punjab, was seen as a step towards peace and a means to diffuse tensions between the two nations.

However, Rashid’s recent revelations have once again seemed to have stirred a hornet’s nest and raised the ugly head of evil conspiracies between the two countries once again. It remains to be seen if Pakistan is playing mind-games with India, trying to use innocents as pawns in furthering its political interests.

Related:

Build Peace and Friendship on the Foundation of Kartarpur
Kartarpur Corridor: Sidhu accepts invitation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar denies
Canadian Pakistanis and Indians celebrate Kartarpur corridor launch

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It was heartening to hear NarendraModi praise Imran Khan, for facilitating the opening of the 4.7 km corridor so that Sikh pilgrims from India could visit the GurudwaraDarbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan, after a mostly anti-Pakistan narrative first during the general elections and then, after the decision related to Jammu and Kashmir was taken by his government. Full credit must go to Imran Khan for taking the initiative of opening the corridor and standing by his decision in spite of a relentlesslybelligerent Indian posture during his tenure. And although his own party has abandoned him on this issue, Navjot Singh Sidhu’s relationship with Imran Khan has also played a small role in this, and Sidhu too, like Imran, has stood by the decision, in spite of adverse criticism at home for having embraced Pakistani Army chief during Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony. In the history of India-Pakistan relationship, most of the times Pakistan has been the aggressor and India desirous of peace, but for a change Pakistan is making moves for peace and India is not reciprocating. Otherwise, in the usual tit-for-tat relationship between India and Pakistan, NarendraModi should have used the occasion of opening of Kartarpur corridor to announce a similar arrangement for Pakistani citizens, who desire to visit Ajmer Sharif dargah through a passage built across the border in Rajasthan.

It is also an irony that on the day when India was taking away the right of its minority Muslims to have a mosque at the place where it stood before 1992, which, as the recent Supreme Court judgement on Ayodhya case describes, was removed as a result of ‘unlawful destruction,’ Pakistan was offering another Indian minority, Sikhs, an opportunity to worship at a shrine, without the requirement of visa and with a warm welcome.

Going by the reactions of Sikh pilgrims, who have had a chance to go across the corridor to Kartarpur, it appears Pakistan has left no stone unturned to make it a pleasant experience for them. By this one gesture, Imran Khan has won the goodwill of Indians. However, it will be better if he also removes the requirement of Passport as an identity document because a vast number of poor Indian citizens do not possess it. As one of the ordinary visitors to the border on the Indian side suggested, they should allow Aadhar Card instead. From our experience during theDelhi to Multan peace march in 2005,onfoot in India and by vehicles in Pakistan, we can remember a number of common Indians, especially from rural areas, wanting to travel across the border whowere disappointed when they were told that they required a passport and visa to do so. The service fee of $20 is also quite high. Pakistan must make it free so that it does not hinder any Sikh citizen from fulfilling her dream of visiting the resting place of Guru Nanak. There are other ways of generating income from this project itself for the maintenance of the corridor and the shrine.

The 2005 Delhi-Multan peace march was undertaken with three objectives: (1) India and Pakistan must resolve all their disputes through dialogue, including the issue of J&K, which should be resolved  according to wishes of the people belonging there, (2) India and Pakistan must give up their nuclear weapons immediately and reduce their defence budgets so that resources could be freed up for developmental activities on both sides in the interest of the common people, and (3) the two countries should remove the requirement of passport-visa and allow free travel across the border. It was the third demand which attracted the most applause in the rural areas and concern among the urban educated. One TadiKirtan singer in a Gurudwara, as we were approaching Jallandhar, came to us and suggested that the above-mentioned third demand should be made the demand number One. His logic, and we were astonished at the soundness of it, was that once free travel across the border is allowed, it would be much easier to resolve the first two issues. We must admit, we felt humbled being educated by a common man on the street. He has left an indelible impression on us, more than any of the university professors who’ve taught us inside the four walls of a classroom.

The 2005 peace march was received by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the present Foreign Minister of Pakistan, who also happens to be the SajjadaNashin of the mazar of a Sufi saint,BahauddinZakariya in Multan, where the march terminated. That day, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who was not yet a politician, said something in a crowded public meeting to welcome the Indian marchers, which is easier said in India than in Pakistan, ‘One day, Pakistan and India will reunite like the two Germanys.’ Such was the congeniality created due to the peace march.

Even if you look at the mood on the day when NarendraModi was flagging off 562 pilgrims from the Indian side and Imran Khan was receiving them on the other side, all the acrimony between the leaderships of two countries had disappeared like magic. Our experience from several visits to Pakistan is that the official enmitybetween the two governments, maintained artificially but easily gives way to bonhomie whenever the atmosphere is more conducive, doesn’t percolate down to the level of common people. After all, it is the same people who speak the same language.

If the two governments exhibited more benevolence and allowed citizens to meet freely, the animosity between the establishments would melt away. Indian side looks at the present initiative of the Pakistani government with suspicion. They think that the Pakistani Army or the Inter Services Intelligence might have some ulterior motives in encouragingKhalistani protagonists to create disturbances in India. That is something that the Indian security establishment should worry about. But it should definitely not come in the way of promoting peace and friendship on the foundations which have been laid in Kartarpur. If we are to be always suspicious of the other, then no relationship, based on trust, can take off. For peace between the twe countries, the stakes are so high, and it will make life of so many so much easier, that it is worth taking the risk.Punjab Chief Minister,Amarinder Singh, has said that he will talk to the Indian Prime Minister to persuade Pakistan to open access to more historical Gurudwaras there. Hence, in spite of the nature of official relationship of the two governments, easier travel across the border remains a popular demand, at least in the border areas on both the sides.

The Indian position – that unless Pakistani government has totally taken care of the problem of homegrown terrorism, it will not dialogue with it – is slightly untenable. It is like saying that unless Yogi Adityanath takes care of all criminals and rapists in the BhartiyaJanata Party’s state unit, it will not deal with the Uttar Pradesh government. With the recent demonstrations against the Imran Khan government in Pakistan, the possibility of more fundamentalists dominating the establishment are very real. Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi are probably the most friendly leaders that India can expect Pakistan to have and to deal with it. It should not fritter away the opportunity.

NarendraModi should also realize that his RashtriyaSwayamsewakSangh training has taught him only one way of mobilizing public opinion – by considering Muslims and Pakistan as enemies. If he were to change his nature of politics, by appealing to the better sense of people, to promote peace and friendship between the two countries and communities, he could mobilise public opinion in his favour equally successfully. The mood of the people and politicians, on both sides of the border, on Novermber 9 must have given him some idea of how much potential this alternative viewpoint holds.

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As a child, I was very curious about my religion. My grandparents would recite the prayers (paath) with us children in the evenings and take us to the Gurudwara for morning prayers. The daily Ardas (prayer) always included a clause,

which translates to “O Immortal Being, eternal helper of the Panth, benevolent God, bestow on the Khalsa the beneficence of unobstructed visits to and freedom to take care of Sri Nankana Sahib and other Gurdwaras and places of the Gurus from which the Panth has been separated.”

For an 8 year old, this seemed like a strange addendum in a spiritual prayer so I would ask questions relentlessly. My grandparents being survivors of Partition violence themselves, were a little hesitant to open up. It took many years for me to fully grasp what Partition meant, how the uprooting of families affected Sikhs and what it felt like to be unable to visit the birthplace of their Guru, or the first settlement where Sikhism was established. The pathos of lakhs of Sikhs in India who felt overpowered by the international politics of India-Pakistan is evident in this line of the daily Ardas. Everyone prays to someday be able to visit the Gurudwaras that have been separated from them by the border.

The opening of the Kartarpur corridor is thus eliciting a very emotional and nostalgic reaction from Sikhs, with many of them- especially elderly people- either already on their way or in the process of planning their pilgrimage to Kartarpur. Before this corridor, pilgrims from India had to take a bus to Lahore to get to Kartarpur, which is a 125 km journey (arduous for most elderly and disabled people) although people on the Indian side of the border could physically see Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the Pakistani side. An elevated platform had also been constructed for the same on the Indian side, where people can use binoculars to get a good view of the Gurudwara. Though a substantial fee will be levied, the visits through the corridor will not require a visa, which is a big step.

The corridor inaugurated on November 9^th, 2019 had a total of 562 pilgrims as part of the first ‘jatha‘ who visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib on the first day of the pilgrimage. While the politicians and leaders are expressing their happiness and gratitude, all that matters for the pilgrims is the emotional relief-that there is hope for the fulfilling of each word of their Ardas.

I visited Gurudwara Hemkunt Sahib when I was 9 years old with my family. It is a brutal climb for most people and many pilgrims prefer to go in a kandi (a carrier strapped onto the back of a mountain guide) or by mule. I chose to climb on foot alongside my Father, and as we climbed the winding mountain with extremely sore legs for two days, I could only wonder, “Why are we doing this?”

I have always pondered the question of pilgrimage and visiting places of worship. Our holy book (Guru Granth Sahib) says “God is everywhere”, “God is inside us”, “God is in every living or inanimate thing”, then why must we visit a place to pay obeisance? Maybe it’s not about where we think God is. It’s about more than that. It’s about sharing spirituality with a community- it’s about roots, history, where we come from. It’s about our identity and faith, and tracing our own story back to the generations of wise Gurus who led us here. Maybe it reminds us of countless others who walked that place on a path of righteousness, maybe it reminds us of the kindness and love that brought a community together, a community that still stays true to those values more than 500 years later.

I have never considered myself religious, but I do love visiting Gurudwaras since I was a child. There’s always a story in every historical Gurudwara- maybe a Guru preached a message of love, maybe a wayward sinner found hope there, maybe a fighter found their final resting place after a courageous battle. History is always held in little pockets inside the places we make pilgrimages to. It is important to remember why we’re visiting a holy place, and what it means to us. For many Sikhs like me, Kartarpur represents the home of our ancestors, the place where it all started. Hope and faith live on, and I end this essay in the best way I can, with the final words of the daily Ardas,

“Nanak Naam Chardi Kala, teraa bhane sarbat da bhala”

(Nanak, with your name comes prosperity and with your blessings, peace for everyone)

The post On 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji- Hope, Faith live on appeared first on SabrangIndia.

While the Pakistan government is still dillydallying over details regarding the Kartarpur Corridor USD 20 entry fee and the requirement of a passport, Navjot Singh Sidhu has confirmed his presence at the inauguration of the ceremony on November 9.

Dr. Mohammad Faisal, official spokesperson of the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed Sidhu’s attendance saying that he would be issued a Pakistani visa to facilitate his travels.

Sidhu was also present at the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Imran Khan last year, alongside attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor.

Sidhu, though, being an elected representative of the Indian state of Punjab, would need political clearance from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to attend any ceremony held in Pakistan.

He had written to the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) asking them if they had any inhibitions regarding his visit. He had said that if he received no response to the letter sent to the MEA, he would visit the shrine like “any other pilgrim”.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also received a formal invitation by Pakistan to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.

“The opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and promotion of religious tourism also coincides with your objective of Violence-Free World,” the invitation letter sent to Ravi Shankar read. However, according to reports, he is unlikely to attend the same due to being caught up with prior arrangements.

In September, it was reported that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too would be extended an invitation for the inauguration. However, former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal had then said the invitation to Singh was a mischievous move by Pakistan to drive a wedge between Singh’s Congress and Modi’s BJP.

Captain Amarinder Singh, Punjab’s Chief Minister had since extended an invitation to Singh and President Ram Nath Kovind to attend the ceremony, which Singh had readily accepted.

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Pak’s fee demand halts Kartarpur corridor registration; Gurdaspur villagers open hearts and homes to visitors

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The post Kartarpur Corridor: Sidhu accepts invitation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar denies appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
 
The Pakistani and Indian Diaspora came together in Surrey to celebrate the launch of Kartarpur corridor that will provide Sikhs access to their historical gurdwara across the international border.
 
The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak had spent his final years in Kartarpur that is located close to the now fenced Indo-Pak border in Pakistan.
 
On the 550th birth anniversary of Nanak next year, Pakistan government is going to allow the Sikh pilgrims to travel without any visa through the corridor to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara.
 
Following the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, not only Kartarpur Sahib, but many other important gurdwaras, including the birthplace of Nanak were separated from the Sikhs in India. For years they have been asking the almighty every day as part of their daily Ardas (prayer) for open access to the shrines separated from the community. Those who live close to the border mostly visit an Indian border security post to see the distantly visible Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara through binoculars.
 
Recently, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced that his government is willing to open the corridor. Though Pakistan had made such offers earlier too, the Indian government had remained reluctant and sceptical citing security reasons. India continues to blame Pakistan for sponsoring terror in India. Nevertheless, the Indian government has now accepted the offer and reciprocated to it by agreeing to construct their part of the corridor.
 
These developments have revived the hopes of permanent peace in the region that saw two major wars between India and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.
 
On Tuesday, December 18, the Pakistani Canadian Cultural Association (PCCA) organized an event in Surrey where the Indian Punjabi Sikhs presented a letter of thanks to the Pakistani government through its Consul in Vancouver Fahad Amjad. The letter was given to Amjad by the team of Punjabi Business Association of Canada led by Jaspinder Brar.
 
It was also the birth anniversary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, father of the Pakistani nation. Later, the organizers cut a cake to celebrate both the birthday of Jinnah and the opening of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor. A video presentation on the corridor plan was also screened at the event attended by elected officials from Surrey.
 
Among those who spoke on the occasion was BC Minister for Labour Harry Bains, who was joined on the dais by his party colleagues and NDP MLAs Jagrup Brar and Rachna Singh. Others who spoke were Liberal MP Randeep Singh Sarai, BC Liberal MLA Marvin Hunt and Conservative Party candidate Shinder Purewal.
 
Former BC Minister and a Liberal leader Dr. Gulzar Cheema who hails from Gurdaspur which is close to Kartarpur Sahib gave background information on the campaign by Sikhs for open access to the shrines separated due to partition.
 
Prominent progressive businessman Baldev Bath also spoke on the occasion. Others who addressed the gathering included PCCA officials Naveed Waraich, Farukh Sayed, Farooq Rai and a young Punjabi poet Irvin Singh – who recited a poem dedicated to the opening of the corridor.  

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