The Indian government on Tuesday responded to Pakistan's proposed draft agreement on opening Kartarpur Corridor and proposed two set of dates, February 26 and March 7, 2019, for the talks on finalising the modalities in New Delhi instead of Islamabad. "Pursuant to the decision taken by the government of India on November 22, 2018 to expeditiously realise the long pending proposal to establish Kartarpur Corridor, India has today (Tuesday) shared the coordinates of the zero point (crossing point) of the corridor along the International Border with Pakistan," said Indian External Affairs Ministry in a press release.
It further stated that India has also proposed two set of dates, February 26 and March 7, 2019, for the visit of Pakistan delegation to New Delhi to discuss and finalise the modalities so that the Indian pilgrims can visit the holy Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib using the corridor at the earliest.
It was followed by the proposal extended by the government of Pakistan on January 21, 2019 when a draft agreement on opening of Kartarpur Corridor was shared with India through its High Commission in Islamabad and also inviting the Indian government to urgently send a delegation to Islamabad to negotiate and finalise the agreement.
"For the record, we invited India well before their invitation today...we also have shared our draft with the Indian government but they don't have any," said a senior government official when asked for comments on the Indian government's invitation for the talks in New Delhi.
The official also stated that the government of Pakistan has appointed Director General South Asia and SAARC Dr Mohammad Faisal as the focal person on Pakistan's side and had requested that the government of India to designate a focal person at its end.
Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 28, 2018 with a view to accommodate the longstanding request of the Sikh community, especially from India particularly in view of 550th Birth Anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak.
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