Pakistan to invite Narendra Modi for SAARC summit: Pakistan FO
Islamabad, Nov 27 (IBNS): Pakistan will invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit, local media reports said quoting Foreign Office official.
The 19th SAARC summit, which was scheduled to be held in Pakistan, was cancelled in 2016 after India boycotted the event.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan had also pulled out from the event.
Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal was quoted as saying by Dawn News that Prime Minister Imran Khan in his first address had said that if India took one step forward, Pakistan would take two.
He called the Kartarpur Corridor event as a 'great success' for the country.
Kartarpur event:
Congress leader and former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday arrived in Pakistan for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Nankana Sahib.
Sidhu arrived in response to the invitation extended to him by Foreign Minister Shah Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi last week, reported Dawn News.
Sidhu said he was bringing a message of love and peace to Pakistan.
"90 per cent of people in India want bilateral cricket between the two countries," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
"Art and artists work to bridge gaps among nations," he added.
Kartarpur is a small town in district Narowal, 4 km from the Pakistan- India border, where the founder of the Sikh religion, Baba Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life.
Subsequently, Gurdwara Darbar Sahab was built at the site on the Pakistan side and Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak in India, which are visited by thousands of Sikhs every year.
As per the Pakistan Foreign Office statement: "Opening the corridor will allow Sikh Yatrees ease of access for their most reverential place of worship which has been their longstanding demand. This is also reflective of the importance and primacy that Pakistan gives to all minorities."
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the groundbreaking ceremony of the facilities at the crossing on the Pakistan side on Nov 28.
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