Islamabad proposes dates for Kartarpur talks with New Delhi

Pakistan wants to send delegation to India on March 13, wants India to follow suit on March 28

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday decided to send its delegation to New Delhi for talks to finalise the agreement on the Kartarpur corridor provided India reciprocated the gesture by sending its team to Islamabad also.

“In a spirit of constructive engagement Pakistan has proposed to India that the Pakistan delegation may visit India on March 13 followed by the return visit of the Indian delegation to Pakistan on March 28 to finalise the draft agreement for the Kartarpur corridor,” Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said in a statement.

In a spirit of constructive engagement #Pakistan has proposed to India that the Pakistan delegation may visit #India on 13 March followed by the return visit of the Indian delegation to Pakistan on 28 March to finalise the draft agreement for the #kartarpur corridor (1/2)

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) February 7, 2019

We look forward to positive reciprocity from India (2/2)

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) February 7, 2019

“We look forward to positive reciprocity from India,” he added.

Last month, Pakistan not only shared a draft agreement with India but also proposed New Delhi to urgently send its delegation to Islamabad to finalise the accord.

The Modi administration, however, made a counter proposal asking the government in Islamabad to send its team to New Delhi. It proposed two dates — February 26 and March 7 — for the negotiations.

Pakistan had termed the India’s response to its proposal for talks on Kartarpur Corridor as ‘childish’ but at the same time made clear that its response would be "mature and well considered".



The proposal to open Kartarpur Corridor had been on the table for many years but it began to take shape after Prime Minister Imran Khan took charge in August last year.

Former Indian cricketer Navjaot Singh Sidhu, who attended the oath taking of PM Imran, was told by Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa that Pakistan was planning to open the Kartarpur Corridor on the 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.

The premier inaugurated the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 28.

Pakistan took this step to accommodate the longstanding request of the Sikh community, especially from India particularly in view of 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.