Peace only way forward for Pakistan, India: PM Khan

It is foolish to believe that two nuclear-armed nations could go to war with each other, and peace is the only way forward for New Delhi and Islamabad, Pakistan’s prime minister said on Wednesday.

Imran Khan, who was speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for a border gate in Kartarpur near India, urged the longtime South Asian foes to let go of the past. Pakistan would take two steps toward friendship even if India only took one, he said.

“The longer we don’t break the shackles of the past, we will remain captive to it. The blame game will continue and the two countries will persist with point scoring,” he added.

The Kartarpur corridor will make it easier for Sikhs in India to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, where the founder of the religion is believed to have spent the last years of his life.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Muhammed Faisal told Arab News that the decision to facilitate visa-free entry for pilgrims is “a very positive development” for minorities in the region.

“(The idea) has found success and traction with the Indian side, which is very, very good,” he said.

While India has welcomed the corridor project, its foreign minister scotched the idea of talks.

“I am happy,” said Sushma Swaraj. “For the last 20 years India has been asking for the Kartarpur corridor, and for the first time Pakistan’s government has responded positively.”

But the resumption of talks and the Kartarpur project are two different things, she added.

“Bilateral dialogue will always see that terror and talks don’t go together. The moment Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, the dialogue can start,” she said.

There have been mixed feelings in India about a warming of ties with its rival. India’s Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu called the corridor project “a bridge between the people of the two countries.”

But Amarinder Singh, chief minister of the Indian state of Punjab, said Pakistan should rein in its army and blamed the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for trying to revive the Khalistani movement, which seeks a separate homeland for Sikhs.

“Terrorist groups working at the behest of the ISI-backed KLF (Khalistan Liberation Force) and other groups based in Pakistan are clearly working on a conspiracy to destabilize Punjab,” Singh said.

But India’s former high commissioner to Pakistan, T. C. A. Raghavan, said there should not be too much concern about the Khalistanis.

“It shouldn’t lead to a breakdown of the relationship between India and Pakistan. After all, we have concerns about Khalistanis in Canada, yet we have a relationship with Canada,” he told Arab News.

“We have concerns about Khalistanis in the UK. That doesn’t mean we should stop everything with the UK,” he said.

“We have to adjust the concerns and we have to be cautious. We should ensure that Khalistanis are isolated. Anyway, no one gives them much importance.”