Pakistan's response to India's demands on Kartarpur Corridor inadequate, says Capt Amarinder Singh

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], March 15 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday expressed disappointment at Pakistan’s response to the issues raised by India during the first meeting on the Kartarpur Corridor.
Terming Islamabad's response as "inadequate", Singh urged Pakistan to be more amenable and responsive to India’s demands, keeping in view the interests of the devotees seeking to pay obeisance at the historic Gurdwara across the border.
In a statement issued here, Punjab Chief Minister said that the neighbouring country needs to reconsider its stand if the Corridor is to serve its true purpose, in the spirit in which it was decided to be opened.
Hailing the decision to open the Corridor to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji by the two nations as "historic", Singh lauded that the Pulwama attack and the subsequent IAF airstrike did not scuttle the talks between the two sides on taking the project forward
It was good that the two countries remained on track with the project deadlines, but Pakistan needs to go a step further to make the initiative truly meaningful for the pilgrims, particularly the Sikh community, that had been deprived of darshan at the Kartarpur gurdwara for over 70 years, he added.
Captain Amarinder further stated that the limitation of 500 pilgrims per day, as proposed by Pakistan, was extremely insufficient to cater to the aspirations of a large number of devotees desirous of darshan at the gurdwara.
Curtailing the visit to a limited number of days in a week would defeat the purpose even further, he added.
"Pakistan's response to India's demands on Kartarpur Corridor is totally inadequate. The Corridor won't serve its true purpose with such limitations. Sikhs have been deprived of Kartarpur Gurdwara darshan for 70 years, need to allow more people every day, including from overseas,” he tweeted.
Captain Amarinder also reiterated the demand for visa-free 'khule darshan' at the gurdwara for Indians of all faiths, from India and overseas, seven days a week.
"Pilgrims should be allowed to go through Kartarpur Corridor for 'khule darshan' at the historic gurdwara all 7 days a week. Special permits should be good for identity, the visa requirement needs to be waived off. Pakistan has to be more responsive on this issue," he further tweeted.
Pointing to the significance of Kartarpur Gurdwara in the life to the first Sikh Guru, who had a massive following among people of all faiths around the world, the Chief Minister said the occasion demanded a more universal approach to the issue from Pakistan.
He urged Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to show statesmanship, true spirit of the sportsman and ensure that no devotee should be deprived of darshan at Kartarpur Gurdwara.
Pakistan should show much more flexibility in this regard as a mark of respect to the Sikh community, he added.
The first round of delegation-level talks between India and Pakistan on Kartarpur Corridor was held on Thursday. The two sides agreed to work "expeditiously" to operationalise Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and decided to hold a meeting of the technical experts on March 19, which will be followed by another round of talks on the issue on April 2.
The Kartarpur Corridor is a long pending demand of Indian devotees which have been a matter of discussion since 1999 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Lahore. It also figured in discussions in composite dialogue, where Pakistan was asked to make Kartarpur part of 1974 protocol as one of the holy shrines in 2005. (ANI)