Kartarpur Corridor row: Sushma Swaraj asserts Indian govt supported corridor, says, 'Terror and talks can't go together;' video inside
India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has on Wednesday said that the initiative taken by India and Pakistan on the Kartarpur Corridor cannot be linked with the dialogues and terror and talks are a separate issue which can’t go hand in hand.
Swaraj has said that India has been demanding the Kartarpur Corridor since a long period of time as it would benefit the people for a hassle and visa free travel of the Sikh pilgrims to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib.
Yet, the Indian External Affairs Minister has made it crystal clear that any talks cannot go ahead with Pakistan until it shreds the umbrella of terror and comes out clean. Swaraj has said “It doesn’t mean the bilateral dialogue will start because of this, terror & talks can’t go together.”
Swaraj added that “For many years the Indian Government has been asking for this (Kartarpur) corridor, only now Pakistan responded positively.”
#WATCH For many years the Indian Government had been asking for this (#Kartarpur) corridor, only now Pakistan responded positively. It doesn’t mean the bilateral dialogue will start because of this, terror & talks can’t go together. : EAM Sushma Swaraj pic.twitter.com/iSPFRbyQI1
— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2018
After Sushma had declined the invite of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Qureshi to attend the ground breaking ceremony due to the busy schedule of election campaigning in the Telangana and Rajasthan. Instead, she has said that two union ministers, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and Hardeep Puri would attend the program.
Union Minister Hardeep Puri has said, “I feel extremely grateful and privileged to be able to make this pilgrimage. This was a long-standing demand of the Sikh community. Express gratitude also to Pakistan Government.”
Earlier, on the eve of the ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor, Pakistan has sent an invite for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the next SAARC summit.
Also read: Rajasthan Election 2018: 'Rahul Gandhi doesn't know the difference between 'Moong and Masoor' but
First published: 28 November 2018, 13:39 IST