NEW DELHI: Pakistan has encroached on lands belonging to the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in the name of developing a corridor for the convenience of pilgrims and has objected to most of the Indian proposals for the project, government officials said on Friday. They added that India “lambasted” Pakistan for its “double-speak” and strongly protested against the “rampant encroachment” demanding restoration of these lands to the holy gurdwara urgently, keeping in view the strong sentiments on the issue in India.
The officials were part of the Indian delegation, which attended the first India-Pakistan meeting on Thursday to discuss the modalities for the proposed corridor linking Gurdaspur in Punjab with the Sikh shrine in Pakistan’s Kartarpur. “Pakistan has lived up to its old reputation of making false promises, making tall claims and delivering nothing. Its double-speak on the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor was exposed at the first meeting itself at Attari on Thursday,” an official said.
The encroached lands were donated to the Kartarpur Sahib by devouts such as late Maharaja Ranjeet Singh and others. “Lands owned by the gurdwara have been surreptitiously usurped by the government of Pakistan in the name of developing the corridor,” the official said.
Pakistan wanted to restrict the duration of Kartarpur agreement to just two years, despite India making it clear that it is executing long-lasting and comprehensive facilities at the border by spending Rs 190 crore.
“Pakistan’s actual offer has turned out to be farcical and mere tokenism. There is a sea of difference between what Pakistan, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, had announced, and what they offered at the Attari meeting. Clearly, Pakistan is not interested in providing Indian pilgrims easy access to Kartarpur Sahib,” another official said.
Discord in the open at corridor meet
Indian officials, who attended the first meeting on Thursday to discuss the modalities of the Kartarpur corridor, hit out at Pakistan for reneging on its promises and strongly protested against the “rampant encroachment” of gurdwara land in Kartarpur and demanded restoration of the plots in question at the earliest.