Kartarpur corridor talks not resumption of bilateral ties, says India to Pakistan

New Delhi, Mar 09: India on Saturday made it categorically clear that Kartarpur talks scheduled to be held on March 14 have nothing to do with resumption of talks with Pakistan. 

Addressing a media briefing MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that holding talks doesn't mean a resumption of bilateral ties and added that this is related to the emotions and sentiments of Indian citizens of Sikh faith.

"I would like to make it clear that holding Kartarpur corridor talks doesn't mean resumption of bilateral ties. This is related to the emotions and sentiments of our Indian citizens of Sikh faith," Kumar told a press conference in New Delhi.

A delegation from Pakistan is scheduled to visit India on March 14 to discuss the draft agreement on the Kartarpur corridor. The talks are being held in the shadow of heightened tension between eh two countries following terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14. Forty CRPF jawans were killed in the incident.

The terror attack, claimed by terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, saw a series of steps by India to mount pressure on Pakistan, which has not shown "verifiable" action against such organisations. Nearly two weeks after Pulwama attack, the Indian Air Force carried a strike at a terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot. The terror camp was believed to be the biggest training centre of Jaish-e-Mohammed.