Pakistan: Delay of Kartarpur meeting 'incomprehensible'

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan on Friday said it regretted the postponement of a scheduled meeting on the Kartarpur Corridor by India without any prior consultation.

The meeting, which Pakistan said was jointly agreed on by both sides, was slated to be held on April 2 to discuss issues related to a proposed opening of a border corridor between two Sikh shrines separated by the countries' mutual border, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

"Last minute postponement without seeking views from Pakistan and especially after the productive technical meeting on March 19 is incomprehensible," Mohammad Faisal said in a tweet.

His remarks came after New Delhi said it had sought Islamabad's response on key proposals put forward by India at the last meeting held on the Indian side of the border earlier this month "to discuss the modalities" of the corridor.

"India has shared concerns and sought clarifications on reports that controversial elements have been appointed by Pakistan to a committee to be associated with the Kartarpur Corridor," said a statement from Indian Ministry of External Affairs without elaborating on which elements it was referring to.

Last November, a groundbreaking ceremony was held by Pakistan for the Kartarpur Corridor in a ceremony attended by two Indian government cabinet ministers.

The corridor will give uninterrupted access to Sikh pilgrims from India to visit a holy site in Pakistan along the border between both countries’ homonymous provinces of Punjab.

Pakistan and India had agreed to open the Kartarpur border crossing this year.

However, relations between the two South Asian neighbors soured following a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir in mid-February that left at least 40 Indian troops dead.

Tensions mounted further following border skirmishes between the two countries’ air forces in which both sides claimed to have downed each other's aircraft.