Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday accused Pakistan of indulging in “doublespeak” on the issue of the Kartarpur Corridor — the proposed corridor on the India-Pakistan border.
“It is unfortunate that the Pakistani government has been indulging in doublespeak. Pakistan is mouthing platitudes about the work it will take up to make the Kartarpur Corridor a reality, but the fact is that it is constructing a mere causeway on its side instead of a bridge,” claimed Mr. Badal.
The SAD leader said that Pakistan has put a cap on the number of devotees at 700 per day and that too for a restricted number of days per year.
“The entry fee and the permit costs proposed by Pakistan for the pilgrims are also very high at ₹1,600 per person on normal days and ₹8,000 per person on special days. Pakistan has further proposed to restrict this facility to Indian nationals only and Persons of Indian Origin would not have access to it,” he said, adding that all these conditions were unreasonable.
Community issues
Mr. Badal said the Pakistan government should waive the permit and entry fee for devotees and allow the entry of 5,000 devotees on normal days and 15,000 on special days.
He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for resolving long-pending issues of the Sikh community.
“The Union government accepted the Akali Dal’s request and scrapped the local blacklist of Sikhs maintained by Indian missions in countries like Canada, USA, UK and Germany.”
He said thousands of NRIs had been suffering because of the local lists prepared by the Embassies.
“The Union government is also actively pursuing the Akali Dal’s request for the release of all Sikh prisoners languishing in jail after the completion of their jail terms. This matter is under process and progress is expected shortly,” he said.