Left out by his own men, senior Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has found support from his “friends” across the border. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has now invited his “friend” Sidhu for the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor on Pak side.
The invitation from Sidhu’s “friend since 1983” came a day after Indian Government shared with Pakistan a list of 575 pilgrims to be included in the first jatha (religious group), expected to be led by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, to visit the Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan.
Even though the list included the names of BJP’s Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and SAD’s Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, besides the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh along with the parliamentarians and legislators from Punjab, former Cabinet Minister Sidhu’s name was conspicuous by its absence.
Sidhu, who played a crucial role in making the Kartarpur passage a reality after he raised the issue with Imran Khan when he visited Pak in August last year to attend his swearing ceremony, was apparently overlooked by his countrymen.
However, his fellow cricketer Imran Khan did not forget to invite Sidhu to join the inauguration of Kartarpur corridor on November 9. As per reports coming in, Pakistan politician Faisal Javed Khan had a telephonic conversation with the cricketer-turned-politician and extended an official invitation on behalf of Pakistan Prime Minister, which Sidhu as reportedly accepted.
While Pakistan will officially open the corridor from its side on November 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Indian side of the corridor on a day before on November 8 ahead of the 550th birthday celebrations of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.
The corridor connects the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Indian Punjab’s Gurdaspur with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan.
Notably, Sidhu had attended Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony as Pakistan Prime Minister in August 2018 in Islamabad. At that time, Sidhu had reportedly stated that he was Imran’s “ardent fan” and they had known each other for nearly 35 years.
Sidhu had described Imran as “a messenger of goodwill”. However, Sidhu faced massive criticism for attending the Pak PM’s inauguration over attending former Prime Minister and his mentor Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s funeral. His “hug” with Pak Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa during his Pak visit was also severely disapproved back home.
India and Pakistan Governments had signed a landmark agreement on October 24 to operationalise the historic Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. Both the countries have decided that the corridor will be operational throughout the year and seven days a week and pilgrims will have a choice to visit it as individuals or in groups.
However, Pakistan has imposed 20 US dollars service fee per pilgrim, which has been criticized by several Indian politicians.
