New Delhi: India Wednesday termed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s reference to Kashmir during the ground breaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor “deeply regrettable” and said he chose to politicise a pious moment.
The Ministry of External Affairs said Jammu and Kashmir was an “integral and inalienable” part of India. “It is deeply regrettable that the Prime Minister of Pakistan chose to politicise the pious occasion meant to realise the long pending demand of the Sikh community to develop a corridor by making unwarranted reference to Jammu and Kashmir which is an integral part of India,” the ministry said.
It added that Pakistan must fulfill its international obligations and take effective action to stop providing shelter and all kinds of support to cross border terrorism from territories under its control.
Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in Hyderabad there will be no dialogue with Pakistan unless it desists from terrorist activities against India.
She also said the Kartarpur corridor initiative – connecting Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak Dev’s final resting place in Kartarpur to the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India’s Gurdaspur district – was not linked to the dialogue process with Pakistan.
Her comments came a day after Islamabad said it would invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the SAARC summit. “That invitation has been given. But we are not responding to it positively. Because, as I said, that unless and until Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India, there will be no dialogue and we will not participate in SAARC,’’ Swaraj said at a press conference.
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