Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the much-awaited Kartarpur corridor on Wednesday as he made an impassioned pitch for peace with India, saying that all Pakistani institutions -- including the military -- want to mend ties with the neighbouring country.
Pakistan opens a corridor of respect and affection
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) November 27, 2018
#KartarpurBorderOpening
3/3 pic.twitter.com/Oezo2I51Wx
"I, the prime minister, my political party, the rest of our political parties, our army, all our institutions are all on one page. We want to move forward," the prime minister said at the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor at Narowal district of Punjab.
"It's a step towards peace which our region needs," Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said at the ceremony.
"Barbed wire at borders is [a] measure by a sovereign state to check/deny illegal crossings. Corridors & Gates are for legal peaceful visitors. So is the case for all our neighbors," the ISPR quoted the COAS as saying.
PM Imran Khan (C) arrives for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kartarpur Corridor in Kartarpur on November 28, 2018. - Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the groundbreaking ceremony of the religious corridor between India and Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP
On the Indian side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the groundbreaking for the corridor on Nov 26 in a hurry in a bid to preempt the Pakistani move.
Today marks a pilgrimage away from the hate and greed of politics, and towards a relationship built upon the dreams, aspirations and spiritual quest of the common people. Today marks the first steps towards a people's foreign policy. Sharing a light moment #KartarpurBorderOpening pic.twitter.com/YKo2aCKo37
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) November 28, 2018
The Kartarpur corridor – which will officially open next year – will be used by Sikh pilgrims coming from India on a visa-free basis to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Devji.
Indian Member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla (C) holds a pot containing water from the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar as he takes part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan's Kartarpur on November 28, 2018. PHOTO: AFP
The agreement to open the Kartarpur route is a rare instance of cooperation between the rivals who have an acrimonious relationship since their inception in 1947 punctuated by bilateral recrimination, wars and border skirmishes.
Kartarpur border corridor: Pakistan and India break the ice
Top civil and military leaders – including General Qamar Javed Bajwa – foreign diplomats and a large number of Sikh pilgrims turned up at the groundbreaking ceremony where popular Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and Union Ministers Hardeep Puri and Harsimrat Kaur Badal were also in attendance.
Premier Imran flanked by the Indian guests unveiled the plague as Harsimrat Kaur sprinkled Amrat Jal -- holy water from the Golden Temple shrine -- on the foundation amid applause of a euphoric crowd.
Sikh pilgrims look from Kartarpur Gurdwara Sahib after a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kartarpur Corridor in Kartarpur on November 28, 2018. PHOTO: AFP
Appealing for a thaw in frosty ties, the prime minister called for improvements in trade and other cross-border interaction and urged ending poverty through cooperation. He added that both the countries stood to gain from better ties.
He said Kashmir is the only dispute between the two countries which could be resolved, as there is not a single issue under the sun which could not be amicably settled.
"We need leaders on both sides of the border who resolve to end this problem and I assure you the problem will be solved," he added.
Premier Imran stressed upon the Indian leadership to exhibit its ability to take decisions. "A genuine leadership could move ahead if it had dreams and strong resolve to achieve them," he added.
He said both Pakistan and India are nuclear-armed nations, so war is not a possibility between them. "It'd madness to think of war between two nuclear states because there is no victor in a nuclear conflict," he said, adding that the only option left is to have peace and friendship.
The prime minister said ties between the two countries in the last seventy years require retrospection and read a Punjabi verse of poet Muneer Niazi, saying both the sides have erred in the past.
"India and Pakistan need to break free from their [bitter] past and move ahead. We need to move ahead. Our past is stopping us from moving ahead. If Germany and France can bury the past, then why can't we do the same," he added.
Imran said the reason he is seeking strong relations between the two countries is to eliminate poverty from the subcontinent. "China has taken out 700 million people from poverty within 30 years. They have done what no other nation has achieved. Our children have stunted growth – both our countries need to move forward."
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib #Kartarpur is a gurdwara in Kartarpur, Narowal District, Punjab, #Pakistan. It is built on the historic site where #GuruNanak settled & assembled a #Sikh community after his missionary travels. 🇵🇰#KartarpurBorderOpening #KartarpurCorridorOpening pic.twitter.com/DwYkYrzHpf
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) November 28, 2018
The prime minister promised the Sikh community that his administration would ensure modern facilities at Kartarpur when they come to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji next year. "I am overwhelmed by the joy on the faces of Sikh pilgrims," he added. "I have never seen such happiness on anyone's face as I am seeing in the crowd right now."
Earlier Indian Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is also a senior member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, also addressed the gathering. "I never imagined I would be standing here. I guess my Guru Ji, Guru Nanak, called me here. This is a miracle of Baba Guru Nanak," she said.
Pakistan has made clear its peaceful intentions and belief in regional harmony.
— Tehreek-e-Insaf (@InsafPK) November 27, 2018
They become concrete as PM @ImranKhanPTI lays the foundation stone for the opening of the Kartarpur Border tomorrow.#KartarpurBorderOpening pic.twitter.com/WRBB8evXWF
"If the Berlin Wall can be brought down, then there can be peace between India and Pakistan," she added. "This has been possible due to joint effort by the governments of both nations. I hope there will be peace in future."
Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu recited a poem at the gathering calling for peace between the two countries and heaped praise on his 'friend' Imran Khan for making a dream come true for the Sikh community.
Sidhu arrives in Pakistan for Kartarpur corridor groundbreaking ceremony
"There has been a lot of destruction, a lot of damage. There's this fire. There has to be someone to put a stop to all this. There has to be someone to put out this fire" Sidhu said.
"This is history-in-making and whenever the future generations pen this down, your name will be on the first page," he said while pointing at Imran. "Long Live India, Long Live Pakistan, Long Live Imran!]"
As per the propose protocol, Sikh pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib on a special permit in prescribed hours. Following their biometric identification and security clearance, they will freely perform their religious rituals in Gurdwara Darbar Sahib and return to their country after the biometric screening.
Sikh pilgrims coming from other countries can land at Lahore and Sialkot international airports and reach to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib from the old route.
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