Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid’s disclosure exposes Islamabad’s nefarious intent behind initiative

Chandigarh, December 1, 2019: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday said Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid’s disclosure that Kartarpur Corridor was the brainchild of their Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had exposed Islamabad’s nefarious intent behind the initiative. Even as he expressed serious concern over this admission by the Pak minister, the Chief Minister said that in validating his (Captain Amarinder’s stand) on the issue, Rashid had completely bared the wicked design of Pakistan behind the Corridor, which India had hoped would emerge as a bridge of peace between the countries. The Chief Minister also took strong exception to Rashid’s remarks that “the Corridor would hurt India, which would forever remember the wound inflicted on it by Gen Bajwa with the Kartarpur Corridor.” Terming it an open and blatant threat against India’s security and integrity, Captain Amarinder warned Pakistan not to attempt to indulge in any misadventure against its neighbour. “Don’t make the mistake of reading weakness in our gratitude for the opening of the Corridor,” warned the Chief Minister, asserting that India would give a befitting response to any bid by Pakistan to attack its borders or its people. Declaring that India would never let Pakistan fulfill its despicable ambitions against the former, he said any such attempt by Islamabad would be met with retaliation of the kind that they would never be able to survive. Captain Amarinder recalled that he had all along maintained that while he was extremely happy, as a Sikh, at the opening of the Corridor to enable access to Indian devotees to the historic Kartarpur Gurdwara, the threat it posed to our country could not be ignored. The Chief Minister had, in fact, been repeatedly urging caution over the matter, warning that Pakistan was trying to win the sympathies of the Sikhs by opening the corridor to further the ISI-backed Referendum 2020 agenda. This had been quite evident from various facts, most notably that Bajwa had disclosed the Pakistani decision to build the Corridor to then Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu at the time of Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony, said the Chief Minister. “Imran had not even taken over then, yet their Army Chief had spoken about this to Sidhu. How was it possible unless Bajwa was the one behind the Corridor decision,” asked Captain Amarinder, recalling that he had pointed this out long back. Given the revelation of the Pak minister, Captain Amarinder also urged Sidhu to be more cautious in his dealings with the Imran Khan government and not allow his personal friendship with the Pakistan Prime Minister cloud his judgement in any way, as that could be harmful to India’s interests. NO QUESTION OF CHARGING FACILITATION FEE FROM DEVOTEES APPLYING ONLINE TO VISIT KARTARPUR SAHIB, SAYS CAPT AMARINDER Chandigarh, December 1, 2019: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday made it clear that devotees applying online to visit Sri Kartarpur Sahib were not being charged by the Sewa Kendras set up by the state government and said anyone asked to pay any fee should inform his office directly. Reacting to reports of pilgrims beings charged some kind of facilitation fee for applying through the online portal at the Sewa Kendras, the Chief Minister said there was no question of charging the devotees and the application process was totally free of cost. If any specific complaint is received by the state government, he would personally ensure strict action against the officials found guilty of such misconduct, which would be a total violation of his government’s decision to provide free application service to the devotees, said the Chief Minister. Pointing out that he had been personally opposing the $20 fee imposed by Pakistan government for devotees travelling to the historic Gurdwara through the Kartarpur Corridor, the Chief Minister said the imposition of any fee for such purpose was totally against the religious tenets of Sikhism. In fact, India had never charged pilgrims from any country, including from Pakistan, for visiting and paying obeisance at any religious shrine, he observed, adding that his government was completely against any deviation from this practice. The Sewa Kendras, said Captain Amarinder, had been issued detailed guidelines for facilitating and processing online applications of those desirous of visiting Kartarpur gurdwara. These guidelines did not include any facilitation fee, he said, adding that he would take serious note of any violation of these guidelines. His government was committed to ensuring seamless and hassle-free visit of all devotees keen on making the journey to Sri Kartarpur Sahib, the `khulle darshan deedar of which was the aspiration and right of every Sikh, the Chief Minister asserted. The Kartarpur Gurdwara, where Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji spent the last days of his life, held a special place in the life of every Sikh, and in fact of every follower of the great Guru, and he, like his father and great grandfather before him, would do everything in his power to ensure that the revered shrine is preserved for Sikhs for centuries, said Captain Amarinder. He felt honoured to have visited the Gurdwara personally, and would ensure that as many other followers of the founder Guru of Sikhism as possible are able to fulfill their cherished aspiration of paying respects at the shrine, he added.