Navjot Singh will attend inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor after getting clearances, says wife

Former Minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu will attend the inauguration ceremony of Kartarpur corridor if he gets requisite clearances from the concerned authorities, said his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu here on Saturday.

She said the former cricketer has received a special invitation from the office of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for the event to be held on November 9.

"Navjot Singh Sidhu has applied for necessary clearances as he has received a special invitation from the office of Pakistan PM Imran Khan to attend the inauguration of Kartarpur corridor," she told the reporters.

"Imran has said Sidhu's presence is important since he had requested for this corridor. If he gets the required clearances and permissions, he will certainly go," she added.

"If our ties with Pakistan deepen after the inauguration of Kartapru corridor, then Attari border will also be opened, which is our next wish. If he gets permission from the Chief Minister and the Foreign Ministry, he will definitely attend the event," said Kaur.

Navjot Singh Sidhu's visit to Pakistan in 2018 had drawn criticism from some quarters in India after he hugged the Pakist Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan.He had earlier attended the ground-breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor but has not been included in the Congress delegation, which will be visiting the gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib on November 9.

Last month, India and Pakistan signed an agreement on the modalities for operationalising Kartarpur Sahib corridor, paving the way for its inauguration ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

The corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Darbar Sahib gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

( With inputs from ANI )