New Delhi:
Describing the Kartarpur Corridor as a major opportunity to open the hearts of the people in Indian and Pakistan, Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said Wednesday violence must be stopped and peace should be restored between the two nations.
“Both the governments should realise that we have to move forward. My father used to tell me that Punjab Mail went till Lahore, I believe that it can go further till Peshawar, till Afghanistan,” Sidhu said while attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor on the Pakistani side.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan 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.
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"Mera yaar, dildaar, Imran Khan jive (may my friend Imran Khan thrive, live. He has been a good friend and delivered his promise," Sidhu, the former cricketer-turned-politician, said.
He added that both the nations should seek a path of brotherhood and live in harmony without any fear with the blessing of Guru Nanak Dev.
Sidhu said if the borders between both countries opened, it would be possible to transport goods to different parts of Pakistan and even others countries.
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"This is my hope, this is my dream ... While there is blood in my veins, I will continue to thank both governments," he said.
"The Kartarpur Spirit can make pilgrims of us all, venturing out on a journey that breaks the barriers of history and opens the borders of the heart and the mind. A journey that our people can walk together towards, a future of shared peace and prosperity for India and Pakistan," he said ahead of the ceremony.
What is Kartarpur Corridor?
# Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.
# It was established by the Sikh Guru in 1522. The first gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built in Kartarpur, where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died.
# The Kartarpur Corridor, which will facilitate the visa-free travel of Sikh pilgrims on both sides, is expected to be completed within six months.
