Credited by Imran for Kartarpur Corridor, Sidhu Not Part of Team Channi's Pak Gurdwara Visit

A ‘jatha’ (group), comprising Punjab minister and led by chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi visited Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Pakistan on Thursday. However, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been credited by the Imran Khan government for opening of the corridor between the two nations, was not be a part of the ministerial team. The visit comes a day before Gurpurab, which marks the birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.

Over 100 Sikh pilgrims from India arrived at the revered gurdwara in Pakistan using the visa-free Kartarpur corridor. On Wednesday, the first batch of 28 Indian Sikhs, including women, arrived in Pakistan to take part in the annual commemoration of Guru Nanak Dev on Friday. Similarly, over 2,500 Indian Sikhs also arrived via the Wagah border crossing.

Sidhu’s media adviser Surinder Dalla, however, on Wednesday night claimed that Sidhu has been officially intimated that he could go on November 20 instead of November 18. Officials said that some MLAs and a few officials also accompanied Channi.

“Sidhu saab had made all preparations for going to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara tomorrow (Thursday),” said Dalla, adding that he was supposed to go with the Punjab Cabinet ministers. Sidhu had submitted his application on Tuesday for travelling to the historic shrine in Pakistan to offer prayers, he added.

Pakistan, in its website kartarpurcorridor-.com.pk, has eulogised the role of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president in the opening of the corridor. The website states that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, a friend from the cricketing days of Sidhu, had decided to open the Kartarpur corridor on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev during his swearing-in ceremony and shared the same with Sidhu, who had arrived in Pakistan to attend the ceremony.

According to a report in Times of India, the homepage of the website reads: “The idea (opening of Kartarpur corridor) was shared with Indian legend Sikh cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister of Pakistan. On November 28, 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Navjot Singh Sidhu attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor.”

The credit has come amid claims by BJP Punjab chief Ashwani Sharma that the initiative was started by the BJP government at the Centre soon after it came to power in 2014.

The Kartarpur Corridor, which links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district, reopened on Wednesday. Gurpurab, which marks the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, will be celebrated on November 19. Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

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