Indian diplomat summoned to register protest over propaganda against Kartarpur Corridor

FO says Sikh body remains responsible for carrying out rituals in Gurdwara Sahiban, including Kartarpur

Pakistan on Friday summoned Indian envoy to register protest over “baseless and fallacious” Indian claims that the management of the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur has been transferred to a non-Sikh body.

“The Indian Chargé d'Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today [Friday] to categorically reject baseless and fallacious propaganda against the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor by the Indian government, which had been rejected by the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGPC) itself,” the Foreign Office said in statement.

It was communicated that the malicious propaganda by the Indian government appeared to be a clear attempt to malign the “Peace Corridor” initiative by casting mischievous aspersions against the interests of the Sikh community and to detract attention from India’s own reprehensible human rights violations of minorities in India, it added.

The FO underlined that the PSGPC remained responsible for carrying out rituals in Gurdwara Sahiban, including Kartarpur as per the Sikh Rehat Maryada.

The Project Management Unit (PMU), under the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), had simply been created to facilitate the PSGPC in this regard, said the official statement.

The Indian side was told that any insinuations regarding “transferring” the affairs of the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur from the PSGPC to the PMU were contrary to the facts and ran against the spirit of the landmark initiative.

It was underscored that the Sikh community from all over the world remained greatly appreciative of the efforts made by Pakistan to complete the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Project in record time and for the excellent arrangements made to facilitate the pilgrims, the communiqué read.