New Delhi:
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said former prime minister Manmohan Singh will visit the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara to join the mega event after the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor as an “ordinary man”.
Speaking to Pakistan's Capital TV, Qureshi: “I had invited former PM of India. I am thankful to him, he wrote me a letter and said, 'I'll come but not as chief guest but an ordinary man.' We'll welcome him even if he comes as an ordinary man.”
Earlier Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Manmohan Singh has agreed to join the first all-party "jatha" (delegation) to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara.
He also invited President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the 550th Prakash Purb celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev and said that the two have agreed to attend.
Pakistan Foreign Minister, on Pak's Capital TV, on Kartarpur Corridor: I had invited former PM of India Manmohan Singh. I'm thankful to him, he wrote me a letter & said, 'I'll come but not as chief guest but an ordinary man.' We'll welcome him even if he comes as an ordinary man. pic.twitter.com/Kbx3ePhX2U
— ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2019
In separate meetings with the president and the prime minister, he urged them to join the mega celebrations to mark the auspicious occasion.
After his meeting with Manmohan Singh, Amarinder clarified that neither he nor the former prime minister had any plans to "visit" Pakistan and were merely visiting the historic and holy gurdwara through the Kartarpur Corridor as part of an all-party delegation.
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"There is no question of me going (to Pakistan for the Kartarpur Corridor opening) and I feel Manmohan Singh will not go as well," he had told reporters, pointing out that there was a huge difference between visiting Pakistan and going to the gurdwara through the Kartarpur Corridor.
