Why no one questioned PM Modi hug with Nawaz Sharif? Navjot Singh Sidhu
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NEW DELHI - Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today defended hugging the Pakistan Army chief during his recent Islamabad visit, saying he got caught in the moment after hearing that Sikh pilgrims may get access to a shrine across the border.
Back from the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the former cricketer compared his hig with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to Lahore in 2015, when he hugged the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He said that ‘no one questioned PM Modi’.
He said: “In the past also efforts for peace have been made, the late Vajpayee ji had taken 'dosti bus' to Lahore, invited Musharraf. PM Modi invited Nawaz Sharif to oath-taking, he also went suddenly to Lahore”
Sidhu said his trip was not a "political" visit but in response to a "warm invitation from a friend".
Sidhu said it was an emotional moment for him when General Qamar Javed Bajwa told him that Pakistan was making efforts to open a corridor for pilgrims from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to Kartarpur Sahib.
Sidhu was slammed by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Akali Dal, and criticised even by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for hugging Bajwa at Imran Khan's swearing-in on August 18.
After his Chandigarh press conference today, the BJP has again criticised Sidhu.
Sidhu said Bajwa had met him with enthusiasm when he spotted him sitting in the front row at the Islamabad ceremony.
