Opening of Kartarpur corridor will remain pending if there are no talks: Pak

Islamabad : The opening of the Kartarpur border crossing for Sikh pilgrims will remain pending if there are no talks between India and Pakistan, the Foreign Office said Thursday, asserting that dialogue is the only way forward to resolve issues and disputes between the two countries.
Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal told reporters that Pakistan “could only try” to co-exist peacefully with its neighbour. Responding to a question about opening of the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims, Faisal said nothing can happen if there are no talks between the two countries.
He, however, reiterated Pakistan’s stance to hold talks with India to resolve all outstanding issues, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
Kartarpur is situated in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province, close to Indo-Pak border. It was established by the first Sikh Guru in 1522. The first Gurdwara, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, was built here, where Guru Nanak Dev is said to have died.
Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.
Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had attended Imran Khan’s swearing in ceremony in Islamabad in August, has said that Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa hinted at opening of the route to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
The 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev is being observed in November 2019.