ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has rejected the “malicious Indian propaganda” that it is allegedly using the Kartarpur Corridor for business meetings, the Foreign Office said on Sunday.

“It’s obvious that this concoction is part of India’s deliberate smear campaign seeking to undermine Pakistan’s historic initiative of opening the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India and around the world,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The response from the Foreign Office comes in the wake of reports carried by certain sections of the Indian media that Pakistan’s officials were “using the Kartarpur corridor to meet and cultivate contacts among Indians going on the pilgrimage”.

“There is nothing new about India’s desperate bid to malign the corridor of peace and divert the world’s attention away from the grave injustices being done to its own minorities, especially Muslims,” the Foreign Office said, adding that Muslims were being targeted in India with impunity by Hindu zealots in utter disregard of all tenets of law and justice.

Two Sikh yatrees who lost their passports returned to India after visa extension

India would be well-advised to desist from casting fallacious aspersions on the Kartarpur Corridor, which was a gift by the government of Pakistan to the Sikh community, and instead focus on taking meaningful steps to effectively protect its own religious minorities and ensure the safety of their lives and places of worship, the statement said.

“Pakistan accords the highest primacy to the rights of the minorities. Sanctity of religious places and revered sites of every community is ensured in Pakistan,” it said.

The Foreign Office said Pa­ki­stan recently hosted over 2,000 Sikh pilgrims from India alone who were here to participate in the annual Baisakhi festival held from April 12 to 21.

It said that elaborate arrangements were put in place to facilitate the visiting pilgrims to pay homage at their holy religious sites.

The Sikh community around the world remained appreciative of Pakistan’s commitment to inclusivity, diversity and promotion of religious harmony, it said.

Meanwhile, two Sikh devotees, who were unable to return to India after they had lost their passports, were provided help by the Evacuee Trust Property Board and relevant departments to facilitate their return on Sunday.

They were among the 2,000 pilgrims who had come from India. “Nishabar Singh and Lakhbir Singh lost their passports last week and were unable to go back. However, the Evacuee Trust Property Board, in cooperation with the respective departments, got their visas extended for a week,” a spokesman for the board told Dawn.

After their visa extension, they crossed the Wagah border on foot to go back, he added.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2022