‘We are Also Punjabis’: Amarinder Singh’s Warning to Pak Army Chief at Kartarpur Corridor Ceremony

Gurdaspur (Punjab): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor with Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Monday, warning Pakistan against infiltrating India.

Singh’s direct warning to Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa came days after the grenade used to attack a Nirankari gathering in Amritsar was traced to the neighbouring country.

“I would like to ask Pakistan army chief Qamar Bajwa something as a soldier. Which army teaches to violate ceasefire and kill jawans on the other side? Which army teaches to send people to attack Pathankot and Amritsar? This is cowardness," Singh, an army veteran, said at the event here.

“I am warning you (Bajwa), we are also Punjabis. You will not be allowed to enter here and vitiate the atmosphere," the CM said.

The decision to develop and open the Kartarpur corridor for passage of Sikh pilgrims to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan is a rare thaw in ties between the two countries amid repeated ceasefire violations and infiltration attempts.

The decision to build the passage — from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to the International Border — was taken by the Union Cabinet on November 22.

Kartarpur is located in Shakargarh in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, had spent more than 18 years of his life there.

The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is located on the banks of the Ravi river, about three-four km from the border in Pakistan.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said the corridor construction work will be completed within four months.

Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Hardeep Singh Puri and Vijay Sampla were also present at the event.

The Punjab government had launched year-long celebrations to commemorate the 550th 'Parkash Purb' (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev on November 23.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor on the Pakistani side on November 28.