ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday dismissed India’s objections raised overappointments in a Sikh committee associated with Kartarpur Corridor, sayingthe Indian decision to postpone the meeting without prior consultations was“unfortunate”.
“Indian postponement of the meeting without prior consultations isunfortunate and could stymie the progress made and acknowledged by bothsides in the Joint Statement of March 14, 2019,” the Foreign Office said ina statement, referring to an agreement reached between the two countries tohold next meeting on April 2 at Wagah.
In response to India’s concerns, the statement mentioned that the 10-membercommittee from Pakistan side was a purely religious committee referred toIndia as Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (PSGP).
The PSGPC is not specific to Kartarpur Sahib, but responsible for upkeep ofall Sikh Gurdwaras in Pakistan, it added.
“It is not a new mechanism, but was constituted under Section 3 of the‘Scheme for Renovation, Maintenance and Preservation of Sikh Holy Shrines’in 2004 and is reconstituted after every three years,” the Foreign Officestatement said.
“Pakistan on its part continues to be committed to uphold its promise tooperationalize the Corridor for the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak inNovember 2019,” it said.
The scheduled meeting was meant to discuss areas of divergence with a viewto align positions and reach consensus for expedited operationalization ofthe Corridor for the upcoming anniversary of Guru Nanak in November thisyear.
Read Top Stories
“Postponing the meeting only endangers Pakistan’s Kartarpur initiative,”the statement added.
Earlier, Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal, in response toIndia’s ‘last-minute’ decision, said Pakistan had not been taken intoconfidence.
“Last minute postponement without seeking views from Pakistan andespecially after the productive technical meeting on March 19 isincomprehensible,” the Spokesman said in his post on Twitter.
The Spokesman said the meeting, which was meant to discuss and findconsensus on outstanding issues, was jointly agreed by both sides on March14 at Attari, India.
Earlier this morning, Pakistan welcomed the Indian journalists interestedin the coverage of Kartarpur meeting in Wagah and had offered facilitationin getting visas.
