Khaled Ahmed was born in 1943 in Jallandhar during the siege of Stalingrad. He has been an opinion writer based in Pakistan for the past 40 years. Over his decades of experience, he has worked for <em>The Pakistan Times, The Nation, The Frontier Post, The Friday Times and The Daily Times, three of which have been closed down either permanently or temporarily. He is now consulting editor at Newsweek Pakistan, based in Lahore.</em> Ahmed graduated from Government College Lahore during the 1965 war with India with an MA (Honours) on the roll of honour, along with a diploma in German from Punjab University. In 1970, he received a diploma in Russian (Interpretation) from Moscow State University. In 2006, he wrote the book, Sectarian War: Sunni-Shia Conflict in Pakistan at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC.
Kartarpur presents an opportunity for normalisation of India-Pakistan ties
After the exit of the US from Afghanistan, Pakistan faces uncertainty across a border it has failed to control. Is it time for an India-Pakistan “normalisation” that once looked real under Prime Minister Vajpayee?
On November 9, Prime Minister Imran Khan got together with thousands of Sikh pilgrims to inaugurate the Kartarpur Corridor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Pakistan for opening up the route to the last resting place of the great Sikh founder-guru, Nanak Dev, in accordance with an agreement reached between the former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former Indian statesman-PM Atal Behari Vajpayee in 1999. The Sikh yatris were visibly touched as they heard PM Khan speak of the “opening up borders for free movement and trade with India”.
Things looked good till the Indian media “revealed” the presence of a group of “Khalistani” agents at Kartarpur. That meant the corridor was actually a conspiracy to undermine India’s integrity by luring the Sikhs away. On the Pakistani side, the hounded opposition thought of the “betrayal” of “Kartarpur” after Modi “annexed” Kashmir. But the people at large didn’t bite and were happy to receive more pilgrims. Imran Khan covered his head as he paid tributes to Guru Nanak Dev.
Things looked good till the Indian media “revealed” the presence of a group of “Khalistani” agents at Kartarpur. That meant the corridor was actually a conspiracy to undermine India’s integrity by luring the Sikhs away. On the Pakistani side, the hounded opposition thought of the “betrayal” of “Kartarpur” after Modi “annexed” Kashmir. But the people at large didn’t bite and were happy to receive more pilgrims. Imran Khan covered his head as he paid tributes to Guru Nanak Dev.
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