New Delhi lodged strong protests with Pakistan over the ‘harassment and denial of access’ to Indian High Commission officials while accompanying Sikh pilgrims to the South Asian country.
In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said: “Despite having been granted prior travel permission by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, the Consular officials of the High Commission of India in Islamabad were harassed and denied access on November 21 and 22 at Gurudwara Nankana Sahib and Sacha Sauda.”
The high commission officials were forced to return to Islamabad without performing their consular duties vis-a-vis Indian pilgrims, it said.
It also expressed concern at the purported attempts of hostile propaganda during the pilgrims visit.
“We’ve also expressed grave concern at reports of attempts being made during the ongoing visit of Indian pilgrims to Pakistan, to incite communal disharmony and intolerance and promote secessionist tendencies with the objective of undermining India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the MEA said.
A day earlier, The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi had approved the development of the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak village in Gurdaspur to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan. Within hours of the announcement, the Pakistan government responded that it has decided to open the corridor. The length of the corridor is about 4 km, 2 km on either side of the international border.
