DUBAI: Lauding Islamabad and New Delhi’s initiative to construct a corridor which would link two sacred sites between India’s Punjab to Kartarpur in Pakistan, the Sikh community in Dubai said it was a welcome move, with some telling Arab News that they were jubilant on hearing about the news, making it the happiest day of their lives.
Once complete, the Kartarpur corridor will be a cross-border gateway which will allow Sikh pilgrims visa-free access to the shrine of Kartarpur Sahib. It is located in the Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province along the river Ravi, four kilometers from the Indian border.
The shrine was built to commemorate the site where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, stayed after completing his missionary work. He formed a Sikh community there and resided in the place for 18 years until his death in 1539. The Gurdwara is built in the same place where Guru Nanak is said to have died. Its religious significance can be gauged from the fact that Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers for darshans (sacred viewing of the site) using telescopes from across the border.
Chairman of Dubai’s Gurudwara ‘Guru Nanak Darbar’, on his part, said that the corridor would lead to peace and harmony in the region. While speaking exclusively to Arab News, Surender Singh Kandhari said that the Kartarpur corridor will help communities become closer. “I am very thankful for both the countries that they have facilitated the Sikh community’s decades-old wish. “Going to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur is a pilgrimage for us. I am glad, now we would be able to visit our Guruji shrine without any difficulty.”
There are an estimated 50,000 Sikhs in the UAE, with a majority residing in Dubai and hailing from Punjab, India. The country is host to a smaller number of Pakistani Sikhs as well. Kandhari said, as soon as the corridor opens, members of the Sikh community in Dubai will also visit Kartarpur. “Now it is a matter of just a few more months,” he said.
T.P. Singh who has been living in Dubai for more than eight years said that the crossing will benefit every from across the world. “In our prayers, we pray to visit the shrine. It is part of our faith. It is a great day for the Sikh community not just in Dubai, but across the world,” he said. Singh, who is from India, said he visited Kartarpur in 1984 and wanted to go again. “I want to take my father who is originally from Gujranwala,” he said.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, along with ministers from an Indian delegation, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the corridor. Hundreds of Sikhs from India and Pakistan participated in the ceremony.
Mahinder Singh who hails from Nankana Sahab in Pakistan said his happiness knew no bounds. “We are thankful to Imran Khan, [Army Chief] General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and [Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh] Sidhuji for taking the first step and making this a reality,” he said.
Singh has been residing in Dubai for more than three years and said that the move would have not been possible without the support of the Indian government. “We are also thankful to our Indian friends and authorities for agreeing to it,” he added.
He added that he has many Indian Sikh friends in Dubai. “When they come to know that I live very close to the holy place, they envy me. They all want to visit holy places in Pakistan,” Singh, who visits Kartarpur on a regular basis, said.
Manmohan Singh from Lahore said that Pakistan should host several more historical and spiritual places of Sikhism. “Whenever I tell my Indian Sikh friends that I am from Lahore and visit Guru Shrine regularly, they are so amazed,” he said.
He runs a business in Dubai and says he’s always wanted to invite his Indian Sikh friends home. “Now we have an excellent opportunity to host them every day. Serving our friends and family, across the border, will be a blessing for all of us,” he said, adding that the Sikhs in Dubai have a very positive perception about Pakistan. “There is no bitterness among us.”
Another Indian Sikh and resident of Dubai, Neeru Singh, said she found the gesture welcoming. “In essence, most people on both sides would welcome any step toward peace and the two nations getting closer, as long as security is not compromised in any way,” she said.
Neeru, whose parents were born in Pakistan’s Punjab, said she always wanted to visit Pakistan. “It is my deep desire to visit Pakistan and get to know the people intimately. My father has always wanted to go back home and see his city, streets, and his school,” she said.
For Sikhs in Dubai, Kartarpur corridor is a dream come true
For Sikhs in Dubai, Kartarpur corridor is a dream come true
- Several said they have waited all their lives for such an initiative
- Appreciate India and Pakistan’s efforts for ensuring visa-free access to revered sites on both sides
Pakistani man killed as multiple Indian drones downed amid cross-border hostilities
- Police say an Indian drone fell over two villagers in Ghotki, killing one and injuring another
- Pakistan’s air defense system shot down another Indian drone in the eastern city of Lahore
KARACHI: A Pakistani man was killed and another injured on Thursday when an Indian drone fell on them in the border region of the southern Sindh province, said a police official, amid heightened military tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors following deadly missile strikes a day earlier.
The incident comes after an Indian missile attack killed 31 people and injured 57 across several locations in Pakistan, with New Delhi calling it a response to an April 22 attack in the disputed Kashmir region that left 26 tourists dead and which it blamed on Pakistan despite Islamabad’s repeated denials.
New Delhi said it had targeted “terrorist infrastructure” across Pakistan, while Islamabad condemned the strikes as a violation of sovereignty and said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets.
The drone incident occurred in Sarfaraz Leghari village, located in Ghotki district, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Dr. Samiullah Soomro.
“This morning, a drone fell over two villagers... killing one man and injuring another,” Soomro told Arab News over the phone, saying more details would be confirmed following a visit to the site.
Eyewitnesses in Ghotki said the drone entered from the Indian side last night and hovered over the village before it was hit by Pakistani forces this morning, following which it fell down near canal where the men were working.
“My brother Mukhtiar Ahmed, who was only 25, was martyred,” Jabbar Laghari, a local schoolteacher, said. “He leaves behind three children. My father was also injured.”
A security officer told reporters that the drone was Indian.
Separately, Pakistan’s air defense system shot down an Indian drone in the eastern city of Lahore, Pakistani police and security officials said, as India evacuated thousands of people from villages near the two countries’ highly militarized frontier in Kashmir.
Local police official Mohammad Rizwan said only that a drone was downed in the Waltan neighborhood of the city that also contains military installations.
Local media reported that two additional drones were shot down in other cities in Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital.
Tens of thousands of people in Indian-administered Kashmir also slept in shelters across the de-facto border in Indian-controlled Kashmir overnight, officials and residents said on Thursday.
–With input from AP
Pakistani and Indian NSAs established contact after New Delhi’s missile strike — Ishaq Dar
- The Pakistani deputy PM tells a foreign news outlet India’s actions are ‘not condonable’
- He does not disclose what the NSAs discussed, but Pakistan has vowed to avenge the attack
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Indian national security advisers established contact after New Delhi’s missile strikes on Pakistan killed at least 31 people, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday, marking a rare official communication between the nuclear-armed rivals.
India said it launched the strikes targeting what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” inside Pakistan following a deadly assault on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, which it blamed on Pakistan despite Islamabad’s denials.
Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets and destroyed several border posts in the military clash that followed. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the Indian missile attacks a “grave mistake” and warned that New Delhi “will have to face consequences.”
In an interview with TRT World, the Pakistani deputy premier said India had done something that “is not condonable.”
“[Dar] confirmed that both a Pakistani national security adviser and Indian national security adviser spoke to each other after last night’s Indian missile strikes in Pakistan, as well as Pakistani-administered Kashmir and then Pakistan’s response, in which Pakistan said that five Indian fighter jets were shot down,” a TRT correspondent in Islamabad reported after the interview.
“However, he did not provide further details, but some people interpret that given the fact that now both sides have established contacts at the level of national security advisers, this means that some form of effort is underway to de-escalate tensions,” he added.
Pakistan recently named Lt. Gen. Muhammad Asim Malik, the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as its National Security Adviser, while his Indian counterpart is Ajit Doval.
The two countries have rarely maintained high-level official contacts in recent years. Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties after India revoked the special constitutional status of the disputed Kashmir region in 2019 to integrate it with the rest of the Indian union.
The rivals, who have fought multiple wars over the Himalayan region they both claim in full but control in parts, also expelled each other’s diplomats following the recent Pahalgam attack.
It is not clear what the two NSAs discussed during their call, but Pakistan has vowed to retaliate after the missile strikes.
Pakistan sets up Hajj flight helpline as India-Pakistan tensions disrupt air travel
- Government has temporarily suspended flight operations at Karachi, Lahore and Sialkot airports
- Local Pakistani media has reported blasts in Lahore, attributing them to suspected drone attacks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry has launched a 24-hour helpline to assist Hajj pilgrims seeking updates on flight schedules, an official statement said on Thursday, as the country faces widespread air travel disruptions linked to escalating military tensions with India.
The measures follow a sharp military escalation between Pakistan and India in the early hours of Wednesday after Indian missile strikes killed at least 31 civilians in Pakistani territory.
Pakistan’s military responded by downing five Indian fighter jets, while Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suspended all flights for 12 hours and several Asian carriers rerouted flights to avoid the region’s airspace.
“The help desk will operate 24 hours a day in two shifts,” the statement said while sharing the telephone numbers. “Hajj pilgrims can obtain information regarding their flights.”
Pakistan also announced it had temporarily suspended flight operations at Karachi, Lahore, and Sialkot airports, citing “national security” concerns.
Pakistan’s Geo News reported blasts in the eastern border city of Lahore, attributing them to suspected drone attacks, though police were still investigating the nature of the explosions.
Tensions continue to remain high between the two South Asian nuclear rivals, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described India’s missile attacks as a “grave mistake” in a speech on Wednesday night, saying New Delhi “will have to face consequences.”
The Indian army also said on Thursday the two neighboring states exchanged small arms and artillery fire overnight along their de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region split between the two countries.
Trump tells India and Pakistan to ‘stop’ clashes
- The US president initially played down the crisis as part of old tensions between India and Pakistan
- His administration has scrambled into action in the last 24 hours since the Indian strikes in Pakistan
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump called Wednesday for India and Pakistan to immediately halt their fighting, and offered to help end the worst violence between the nuclear-armed countries in two decades.
“It’s so terrible,” Trump said at the White House. “I get along with both, I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop.
“They’ve gone tit-for-tat, so hopefully they can stop now.”
Trump’s comments came as India and Pakistan exchanged heavy artillery fire along their contested frontier, after New Delhi launched deadly missile strikes on its arch-rival.
At least 31 deaths were reported in the fighting, which came two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on the Indian-run side of disputed Kashmir, which Pakistan denied.
Pakistan has long been a key US military ally but Trump has been keen to build up relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he hosted at the White House in February.
“We get along with both countries very well, good relationships with both, and I want to see it stop,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“And if I can do anything to help, I will be there.”
Trump initially played down the crisis as part of old tensions between India and Pakistan — even saying they had been at odds for 1,500 years, despite the two countries only forming after independence from Britain in 1947.
But his administration has scrambled into action in the last 24 hours since the Indian strikes.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to his counterparts from India and Pakistan on Friday, encouraging them to reopen dialogue to “defuse” the situation, the White House said.
Peace in South Asia to remain ‘a dream’ until Kashmir dispute is resolved— ex-Pakistan FM
- Tensions between New Delhi, Islamabad soar after India’s strikes in Pakistani territory kill 31
- Any sovereign nation would have no choice but to respond, says Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari this week said peace in South Asia will remain “but a dream” unless India and Pakistan resolve the issue of Kashmir, as tensions soared between the two nuclear-armed neighbors following India’s missile strikes in Pakistani territory.
Bhutto-Zardari’s comments follow surging tensions between India and Pakistan after the former conducted missile strikes into the latter’s territory late Wednesday night, which Pakistan said killed 31 and injured 57. The Indian government said it struck nine Pakistani “terrorist infrastructure” sites involved in planning a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. The assault took place on the tourist hill station of Pahalgam in the part of Kashmir governed by India, with 26 men killed.
The Pakistani military said six locations across its territory — Ahmedpur East, Muridke, Sialkot, Shakargarh in the eastern province of Punjab and Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir — were targeted. Azad Kashmir is the part of the disputed Kashmir valley that is administered by Pakistan. In response, Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had said five Indian planes and one combat drone that had attacked Pakistan were shot down, naming three Rafales and an MiG-29 and Su-57 each.
India and Pakistan have fought two out of three wars over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. Both countries claim the territory in full but administer only parts of it. India accuses Pakistan of arming separatist militants in the part of Kashmir it governs, which Pakistan denies. Islamabad says it only extends moral and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir.
“This [Kashmir] is a disputed territory,” Bhutto-Zardari, who is also the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, a key government coalition ally, told Arab News during an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
“This is a dispute that India took to the United Nations. And until we get to the root cause, until we find a solution to the Kashmir question, until then I believe that peace in South Asia will be but a dream.”
Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan had called for a credible, international probe into the Pahalgam attack. However, he rejected India had leveled unfounded allegations at Pakistan “without any supporting evidence.”
“All over the world it is known you’re innocent until proved guilty,” the PPP leader said. “Accuse me of a crime but produce the evidence and at least have a trial.”
He criticized the Indian government for becoming “judge, jury and executioner,” adding that its military strikes had targeted innocent civilians and children.
“They violated Pakistan’s sovereign territory,” the former foreign minister said. “Any sovereign nation on the planet would have no choice but to respond in such a circumstance.”
Pakistan has vowed that it has the right to respond to India’s military strikes as per international law. During his address to the nation on Wednesday night, Sharif warned India it would have to “pay the price” for striking Pakistan. His office said earlier on Wednesday that the country’s top national security body had authorized its armed forces to take “corresponding actions” in response to Indian strikes.
