Opening of Kartarpura border: No formal contact on border with India, says FO

ISLAMABAD: While there is jubilation amongst the Sikh community in India related to the likely opening of Kartarpura Corridor, the Foreign Office spokesman said that so far no formal communication between the two countries has taken place.

Earlier, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had stated that India is ready to hold negotiations with Pakistan regarding the opening of Kartarpura Corridor but they are waiting for official communication from Pakistan.

An opportunity to further hold talks on this issue present themselves in New York later this month when both Qureshi and Swaraj will be present and have a chance to meet on the sidelines of the United States General Assembly.

When questioned, the spokesman said, “No decision has been taken so far. We are engaged in the matter.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statements about his government’s plans to look into giving Afghans residing here, mostly refugees, Pakistani nationality has created interest amongst the political circles in Kabul and this will be an item on the agenda during bilateral talks under the Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) in the second week of October in Pakistan.

Khan had first on a visit to Karachi and then later on in the National Assembly this week, announced that his government would grant citizenship rights to the children of Afghan and Bengali refugees born in Pakistan.

“Pakistan cannot continue to ignore the issue of non-citizens and needs a policy to facilitate those who have been living here for decades, were born or married here”, the prime minister had reiterated in the Lower House though he added that the final decision would be taken after meetings with the opposition parties.

“They are humans. How come we have deprived them and have not arranged for offering them national identification card and passport for 30 years, 40 years?” To several queries at the Foreign Office, the spokesman when questioned whether this would be raised at the APAPPS, responded, “APAPPS is an all-inclusive mechanism between the two countries which has five sub-groups, under which both sides are in contact regarding various issues including that pertaining to the refugees”.

He also commented on the recent visit of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to Kabul where he had discussions on several issues with the Afghan leadership including the opening up of Pakistan’s Consulate General in Jalalabad closed recently for security reasons.

“We hope that the consular services at the Consulate General in Jalalabad will be resumed soon. A meeting will be held under the auspices of Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) in the second week of October in Pakistan. Please note that APAPPS is an all-inclusive mechanism between the two countries which has five sub-groups, under which the two countries are in contact regarding various issues. During the October meeting of APAPPS all issues will be discussed between both sides”, said the spokesman.