Kartarpur corridor: Now Pakistan seeks more 'jhappis' from Navjot Sidhu

All eyes were on Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was in Pakistan, as his 'friend' and Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib on the other side of the border.

Navjot Singh Sidhu addresses a crowd during a ceremony in Kartarpur, Pakistan. PTI Photo

KARTARPUR: All eyes were on Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was in Pakistan, as his 'friend' and Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib on the other side of the border. Sidhu had credited the creation of the corridor to the hug that he gave Pakistan's army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in August, when Imran Khan was being sworn in as prime minister. However, back home, Sidhu was slammed by the BJP and criticised even by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, for his 'jhappi'. Referring to the same, Imran Khan, while speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor, wondered what wrong had Sidhu done when he came here in August. I don't understand why he Sidhu was criticised when he was talking about peace between two countries which are nuclear armed, Imran Khan told the gathering. The bond between Sidhu and Khan was visible when the latter lightly asked the Congress leader to contest election from Pakistan's Punjab province. Khan said he knows Sidhu will win if he contests elections from here as he has such a large fan following in Pakistan "Hopefully we will not have to wait for Sidhu to become prime minister for relations to improve between the two countries and before that, Indian leadership will take positive steps," Khan further said. Earlier, as the ceremony began, Minister for Religious Affairs of Pakistan Noorul Haq Qadri addressed Sidhu as 'bazm ke maharaj' (king of the ceremony) and 'aman ke safeer' (ambassador of peace). Qadri said if it won't be appropriate if he doesn't mention the "historic" hug of Sidhu and Bajwa at the event, which according to him has made this corridor a reality. He said if Pakistan gets a few more such 'jhappis', most of the issues between the two countries will get resolved. Kartarpur Corridor will link Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur - the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev - to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district to facilitate visa-free movement of Sikh pilgrims. The corridor made headlines in August when Sidhu visited Pakistan. During his address, Sidhu congratulated his 'friend' Khan for the initiative and hoped that their will be love and peace between both the nations. He said there had been enough bad blood and that the corridor would be a major opportunity to open the doors of the hearts of the people. "Violence must stop and peace should return to the region," he said. Sidhu said that both the nations should seek a path of brotherhood and live in harmony without any fear with the blessing of Guru Nanak Dev. Sidhu said that if the borders between both countries opened, it would be possible to transport goods to different parts of Pakistan and even others countries. "This is my hope, this is my dream ... While there is blood in my veins, I will continue to thank both governments," he said. "My father used to tell me that Punjab Mail went till Lahore, I believe that it can go further till Peshawar, till Afghanistan," he said. He said his "big hearted" friend Khan has kept his promise and ended 70 years of wait for the corridor. "The Kartarpur Spirit can make pilgrims of us all, venturing out on a journey that breaks the barriers of history and opens the borders of the heart and the mind. A journey that our people can walk together towards, a future of shared peace and prosperity for India and Pakistan," he said during the ceremony.