Corridor Gen Bajwa’s brainchild, will hurt India forever: Pak minister

Amritsar: The opening of the historic Kartarpur corridor was the brainchild of Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed

Bajwa

and it will hurt India forever, a Pakistani minister claimed on Saturday, contradicting his government’s assertion that the idea behind the initiative was of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

While inaugurating the corridor on November 9, Khan had told a gathering of over 12,000 devotees, including former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu: “I had no idea of the importance this place holds. I found out a year ago. I am happy we could do this for you.” The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has claimed that the corridor was the initiative of Khan.

However, Pakistan’s railways minister Sheikh Rashid, a known motormouth considered to be a close aide of Khan, contradicted the government’s claim on Saturday when he told reporters here that the opening of the corridor was the brainchild of Bajwa and asserted that it will hurt India forever.

“India will remember forever the kind of wound inflicted on it by General Bajwa by opening Kartarpur corridor. General Bajwa has strongly hit India by opening the corridor. Through this project, Pakistan has created a new environment of peace and won itself love of the Sikh community,” Rashid has been quoted as saying by Pakistani media.

On August 18, 2018, it was Bajwa who had told then Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu about Pakistan’s intentions of opening of the corridor during the 550 birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. The Congress leader was there to attend the oath taking ceremony of his friend Imran Khan as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Even at that time, questions were raised as to why Bajwa told Sidhu about the plans to open the corridor and not Khan. Now, the assertions of one of Imran’s close aide about the corridor have again put a question mark on Pakistan’s intentions.

Kartarpur corridor which connects Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Indian Punjab with Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab was inaugurated on November 9. General Bajwa did not attend the Kartarpur Corridor’s opening ceremony apparently to avoid any controversy.

In recent past, Rashid had claimed that the corridor would change the history of region and it was a great success of Imran Khan and General Qumar Javed Bajwa and the corridor would give immense benefit for the cause of Kashmir.

Even Pakistan’s former army chief Mirza Aslam Beg had recently said that his country would use the corridor for creating troubles for India through Khalistan movement.


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