Navjot Singh Sidhu seems to have more friends in Pakistan than back home. No wonder, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has invited him for the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor. But the invite came even as Pakistan denied consular access to Sikh pilgrims visiting two gurdwaras in the neighbouring country on the occasion of Gurpurab on Friday. This had happened despite the consular staff in Islamabad having been granted prior travel permission by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan. Khan will lay the foundation stone for the corridor on the Pakistani side on November 28, while on November 26, CM Captain Amarinder Singh and President Ramnath Kovind will do the same on the Indian side. The corridor came into the spotlight after Navjot Singh Sidhu’s infamous hug during Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony. In the course of the hug, Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had told Sidhu that Pakistan may open a corridor to Kartarpur Sahib. That had earned him brickbats in India but now the corridor could get him much needed brownie points.
Speaking to media, Sidhu said, “My hug turned out good for 15-16 crores of people as the central government is now making moves to develop the corridor. At least this deal is not similar to Rafale’s”. But even as Navjot was patting himself on the back, the Indian High Commission personnel were compelled to return to Islamabad without performing their diplomatic and consular duties vis-a-vis Indian pilgrims. This is the third consecutive visit of the Indian Sikh pilgrims when Pakistan has prevented the Indian High Commission officials from meeting them.
