Chandigarh : The opposition in Punjab on Saturday targeted Navjot Singh Sidhu for attending the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan as Pakistan’s PM, with the BJP describing his visit to Islamabad as “shameful”. It also asked the cricketer-turned-politician whether it was necessary to visit Pakistan at a time when India was mourning the demise of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Sidhu’s hug with Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the ceremony also came under fire with Opposition parties asking him whether he remembered the sacrifices made by the Indian soldiers at the border at that time. “Sidhu’s visit to Pakistan is shameful,” said Punjab BJP chief Shwait Malik. “On one side, the Pakistan army was involved in attacking our soldiers at the border and on the other side Sidhu was hugging the Army chief. Does it mean he was thanking him for killing our jawans?” he asked.
Malik dubbed Sidhu as an “opportunist” and accused him of putting the nation’s dignity at risk. The BJP leader demanded an apology from him for the “unacceptable act.” The Shiromani Akali Dal said Sidhu broke the “decorum” by visiting Pakistan.
Sidhu is a Cabinet minister in the Amarinder Singh-led Congress govt in Punjab.
Pak deliberately made Sidhu sit with PoK chief?
Islamabad: Some reports said that Sidhu was deliberately made to sit next to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) president Masood Khan during the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan PM Imran Khan. As per sources, Sidhu was initially sitting in one of the back rows, next to former Pak cricketer Wasim Akram and others.