Pak says Kartarpur corridor ‘high point of diplomacy’ for Imran Khan govt

At the weekly media briefing here, Faisal said that the Kartarpur corridor was the "high point of diplomacy for Pakistan's new government, along with Afghan (peace) developments.

India to develop 4 km stretch of Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak — Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib will be accessible without visa. (Express Photo/Jaipal Singh)

Pakistan on Thursday described the Kartarpur corridor as the “high point of diplomacy” for the Imran Khan government while admitted that there was “no progress” on the contentious issues with India. Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal also said that the Kashmir issue remained “on top of Pakistan’s priority”.

At the weekly media briefing here, Faisal said that the Kartarpur corridor was the “high point of diplomacy for Pakistan’s new government, along with Afghan (peace) developments.” He said Prime Minister Khan in a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in September gave a detailed roadmap to move forward but New Delhi failed to reciprocate.

Faisal said that despite India’s refusal to start a dialogue, Pakistan went ahead with the groundbreaking of the Kartarpur corridor. Prime Minister Khan in November laid the foundation stone for the corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur – the final resting place of Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak Dev – to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims.

“It was very positively received all around the world, especially by the Sikh community. We are actively working to develop infrastructures at Kartarpur,” Faisal said.