Imran Khan govt hails Navjot Singh Sidhu's role in opening of Kartarpur corridor

Imran Khan government has praised cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu for his role in the opening of the corridor to Sikh pilgrimage site Kartarpur Sahib between the two countries. A reference to the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President's name was made on the kartarpurcorridor.com website which said that idea of the corridor was shared by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan with Sidhu.

The relationship between Imran Khan and Sidhu came to the limelight in 2018 when the latter attended the oath-taking ceremony of Pakistan PM. "The idea was shared with the Indian legend Sikh cricketer Sardar Navjot Singh Sidhu who attended the 'Swearing In' ceremony of Prime Minister of Pakistan. On 28 November 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Navjot Singh Sidhu attended the Ground Breaking Ceremony of Kartarpur Corridor," the kartarpurcorridor.com website page read.

Interestingly, Pakistan is highlighting Sidhu's role in the Kartarpur corridor issue at a time when the Indian government has decided to reopen the Corridor. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday had said that the Kartarpur corridor will reopen from today.

Shah took to Twitter and said, "In a major decision, that will benefit large numbers of Sikh pilgrims, PM Narendra Modi government has decided to re-open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from tomorrow, November 17. This decision reflects the immense reverence of the Modi government towards Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and our Sikh community." The corridor was shut in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The visa-free 4.7-kilometre long corridor joins the Indian border to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. It became operational in 2019. Notably, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of Punjab recently met PM Modi and requested the reopening of the corridor.