India on Saturday rejected an offer made by Pakistan for the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor on June 29, saying that cross-border travel has been suspended due to coronavirus outbreak, Times of India reported.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan had issued a statement earlier in the day conveying its ‘readiness’ to the Indian side to reopen the corridor on the occasion of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s death anniversary on June 29. “As the religious places are gradually opening up around the world, Pakistan has also made necessary arrangements to reopen Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for Sikh pilgrims,” said the statement. “To ensure adherence to the health guidelines, Pakistan has invited India to work out necessary SOPs for reopening of the corridor,” it added.
The statement noted that the corridor was inaugurated last year on November 9, three days before the 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak, fulfilling ‘the long awaited desire of Sikh devotees of the international community’. It described the corridor as a true symbol of peace and religious harmony and how the landmark initiative has been immensely appreciated by the Sikh community all over the world including India. “The first Guru of Sikhism, Baba Guru Nanak Saheb, had spent the last 18 years of his life in Kartarpur,” it added.
According to the statement, the Corridor was temporarily closed on March 16 this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Pakistan is now looking to reopen it after SOPs are put in place with joint consultation between both sides.
India, in response to Pakistan’s gesture, described it as ‘a mirage of goodwill’. “Government sources said this will only undermine the bilateral agreement which requires India to share information with Pakistan a week before the date of arrival,” the publication added.
Separately, Pakistan on Saturday categorically rejected the grant of domicile certificates of Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) by the Indian authorities to reportedly 25,000 Indian nationals. Also rejected by Kashmiris, the ‘bogus’ domicile certificates have been issued to non-Kashmiris including, among others, the Indian government officials under ‘Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure), 2020’ are illegal, void and incomplete violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and International law including the 4th Geneva Convention, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.
She said the latest action is a vindication of Pakistan’s consistent stance that the major intention behind the Indian government’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, was to change the demographic structure of the occupied valley and turn Kashmiris into a minority in their own land. “This has long been part of the RSS-BJP’s Hindutva agenda. By changing the demographic structure of IHK, the Indian government intends to undermine the exercise by the Kashmiri people of their right to self-determination through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nation as per the relevant UNSC resolutions,” the spokesperson remarked. “The recipients of the domicile certificates must know that India has no legal authority to bring in and settle people from outside the occupied valley. The international law bars India from such illegal actions,” the spokesperson remarked.
