The letter Navjot Singh Sidhu wrote on November 7.

The letter Navjot Singh Sidhu wrote on November 6.

Sandeep Dikshit & Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
New Delhi/Chandigarh/Islamabad, November 7

Hours after Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu was given political clearance by the Centre on Thursday to take part in the Kartarpur corridor inauguration ceremony on the other side of the border, Pakistan issued him visa.

Political clearance has been granted to Sidhu to travel through the Kartarpur Sahib corridor on November 9, the sources in New Delhi said.

The Pakistan government invited Punjab Congress leader Sidhu — who also attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor — to attend Saturday’s inauguration.

A ruling party spokesperson had said that Sidhu, a personal friend of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan since old cricketing days, accepted the invitation.

“Sidhu has been issued a visa and we will warmly welcome him on the opening ceremony,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said during his weekly media briefing here.

The passport waiver for Kartarpur pilgrims would extend up to one year as a special gesture on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, Faisal said.

Pakistan has also waived the USD 20 service charge per pilgrim per visit on November 9 and November 12, he said, adding that it has also waived the requirement of 10-day advance intimation for the mega ceremony.

He said he would go to Pakistan as millions of devotees go on an eligible visa. He said since he has not got any response from the EAM, in spite of repeated reminders seeking permission, he would still go to Kartarpur.

Sidhu had on Wednesday also sought permission from the Centre for his clearance to visit Kartarpur. He had said he would visit Kartarpur via Wagah, if the approval to travel on Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s invite to him was not granted.

Sidhu has already missed the opportunity to be part of the official jatha. All Punjab MLAs were asked to apply, but Sidhu opted out. — With PTI inputs

Sidhu’s role can’t be overlooked, admit Cong leaders

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Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 6

Nearly four months after his unceremonious exit from the Cabinet and attempts to push him to political oblivion, Navjot Singh Sidhu found support and praise from some of his “old friends” in the party.Cooperatives Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and MLA Pargat Singh came out openly in support of Sidhu, while PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar was subdued while giving him credit for the opening of the corridor. Even as some senior Congress ministers and leaders raked up the issue of Sidhu’s stand of not participating in the special commemorative session of the Vidhan Sabha and seeking permission to go to Pakistan, the leaders spoke of his “contribution” in getting the project through.

CM Capt Amarinder Singh has so far refused to give credit to Sidhu. In fact, the rift between the CM and Sidhu began after the latter went to Pakistan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan PM Imran Khan, where Sidhu had claimed that Pakistan Army General Qamar Javed Bajwa had reportedly told him of the government proposal to construct the corridor. Sidhu was not present in the House today, and his name or his role over the matter was not mentioned during the session.

Randhawa told The Tribune that he gave credit to Sidhu for the construction of the corridor. “I, however, regret that Sidhu did not attend the session today. I would have loved to take him (Sidhu) along as part of the jatha to Kartarpur, and together we would have thanked Pak PM Imran Khan for fulfilling this long-pending demand of the Sikhs,” he said.

MLA Pargat Singh, who is among the few MLAs believed to be close to Sidhu, said the corridor was possible only because Guru Nanak had so desired. “But Sidhu and Imran Khan have played an important role. I would thank them and anyone else who has played a role in this,” he said. Even Jakhar said the contribution by Sidhu could not be ignored in getting the project through. “He played his part. But it is Baba Nanak who alone should get credit for the corridor,” he was quick to add.

It will be just a small step forward on a long and difficult road, which our two nations can only traverse together if Islamabad gives up its negative posturing vis-a-vis India

My connect with Kartarpur Sahib goes back to my childhood. I still remember how the gurdwara, just about 235 km from my hometown of Patiala (that’s less than the Chandigarh-Delhi distance), was always spoken of with great reverence in our family. Of course, that was majorly because of the historic importance of the site, where Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji died on September 22, 1539. But part of it was also because of the personal connection my family had with the gurdwara, whose present building was built in 1925 at a cost of Rs 1,35,600, donated by Maharaja Bhupindar Singh, the then ruler of Patiala and my grandfather, after the existing structure was ravaged by floods.

The desire to visit the revered gurdwara has always been strong within me. Today, just days before I see the cherished aspiration transform into enviable reality, I bow before the Great Guru for granting me this experience, and that too during his 550th Prakash Purb celebration.

I recall my personal meetings, in my previous term as chief minister, with former Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, during which I had spoken extensively about the deep-rooted urge in every Sikh to visit the historic Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara. Though he had responded positively to my request, which our former Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had also subsequently pursued actively, things did not really move forward till November 2018, when the Government of India conveyed its decision to build the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to the International Border (with Pakistan), in coordination with the Government of Punjab.

It was a momentous day for all of us here in Punjab, and we wasted no time in initiating the process of getting things in place for the construction of the corridor and the infrastructure around it. It took us less than two months to make the land required for the project available to the central government. The work on the corridor (4.190 km) was started on December 13, 2018. In addition, a Passenger Terminal Building Integrated Check Post (ICP) is also being constructed at the International Border in an area of about 50 acres by the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI), which will become operational before the corridor opens for pilgrims.

Working closely with the Centre, my government, I am pleased to state, has ensured that the corridor is ready to be inaugurated by the prime minister on November 9, and to receive the first jatha of pilgrims to Sri Kartarpur Sahib on the same day. That, with the blessings of Wahe Guru, I will have the honour of being a member of this jatha gives me a deep sense of joy and satisfaction.

What makes this achievement truly remarkable is that both India and Pakistan stuck to their deadlines against all odds, in the face of many disturbing and disruptive developments in the last one year, to fulfill their ends of the bargain. This gives me, and I am sure it gives the people of both countries, a powerful sense of optimism about the future.

However, the fructification of this optimism would depend, to a great extent, on how soon, and how effectively, Pakistan leverages the opportunity it has got in the shape of the Kartarpur Corridor. From where I see it, the corridor has the potential to stand out as a historic symbol of peace and hope of a better tomorrow for Indo-Pak relations.

The recent decision of the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to name the stretch from the Indo/Pak Border-Dera Baba Nanak-Amritsar-Tarn Taran-Goindwal Sahib-Kapurthala Sultanpur Lodhi National Highway as “Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Marg” in the state of Punjab has further added to the aura of the corridor, which in many ways is a bridge of faith between India and Pakistan.

But the opening of the corridor next month will be just a small step forward on a long and difficult road, which our two nations can only traverse together if Islamabad gives up its negative posturing vis-a-vis India. As long as the Pakistan Army continues to support and sponsor cross-border terrorism, as long as our soldiers are killed by the men from across the border, and as long as the climate of mistrust and fear remains, there can be no real progress in easing the perpetual tension between our countries.

However, with my unwavering faith in the ideology of universal love and tolerance propagated by our revered first Guru, I am strongly of the view that the corridor will eventually pave the way for harmony between our two nations, whose people share common roots and a common aspiration for the future. It is my dream to see India and Pakistan connect with each other at an even deeper level, to walk beyond the 4.5 km of the Kartarpur Corridor and find new ways of burying the past, in my lifetime.

One small way of building on the trust that the corridor promises to nurture between the two countries is for Islamabad to waive the $20 fee it has imposed on pilgrims visiting the revered gurdwara. A gesture like that would really prove that Pakistan respects the sentiments of India’s people, and wants to strengthen people-to-people relations between the two nations.

The corridor, I believe, has shown us that it is more than possible to bridge the differences that have assumed unnaturally grave proportions in these seven decades. All that is needed is the will to do so. Let this corridor, then, become an icon of our collective future, and a beacon to show us the way to do it. Let it be the burial ground for hatred and mistrust, and for all those inimical forces that have obstructed peace between the two nations all these years. Terror and violence have no place in this Corridor of Peace — a truth that I am sure Islamabad realises, and hope it is ready to acknowledge.

What is needed now is the intent to bury the hatchet, which, in the given circumstances, is more the responsibility of Pakistan than of India. And now is the best time for the Imran Khan government to make the next move.

This article first appeared in the print edition on October 30, 2019 under the title ‘Journey to a beginning’. The writer is chief minister of Punjab.

The supply company and the supply depot provide supplies to an army division and the brigades under it in both peace and field locations. The combined strength of the supply company and depot is about 200 troops, officials explained.

HT Correspondent

chandigarh@hindustantimes.com

Mohali  : Students of the Army Institute of Law (AIL), Sector 68, on Monday submitted their response to the decisions announced by the institute over the eight demands raised by them.

Over 300 students have been protestingagainst the college administration since last week. College chairman Major General ML Aswal had met them and announced the decisions taken by the management over the row.

To the first demand as per which the students asked for the appointment of a democratically chosen interim students’ body, the chairman had said that the body would continue to be nominated. To this, the students, citing Lyngdoh Committee Report, replied that Supreme Court says elections can be conducted to form student bodies in colleges and universities.

To the demand of revoking the provisions of the code of conduct, the college management had recommended a review in consultation with the students and their parents. To this, the students highlighted several codes and demanded their revocation.

To the demand of mandating a system of mock lecture for fresh recruitment of faculty members and inviting anonymous feedback, the students said, “Such lectures in the presence of senior and experienced faculty members will help gauge the abilities and style of teaching of the candidates.” The  AIL management had refused to abide by this demand. On the complaints of overpricing and low quality of food served at the college cafeteria, they urged the authorities to seek their suggestions before giving contract to anyone.

DEMAND PERMANENT BOARD OF INQUIRY

To their demand seeking the composition of a board of inquiry, the students asked for a permanent body in place. “We recommend having a permanent body, wherein members may change periodically over an academic year to prevent organisational hassles for students and authorities alike,” they said.

Seeks credible action against terrorists on Pak soil, says half-hearted steps won’t do

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 25

India today termed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks that his country was still hosting 30,000-40,000 armed men who had fought in Kashmir or Afghanistan a “glaring admission” of Islamabad’s policy of using armed extremists as an instrument of state policy.

Many of these militants were sent to India and the international community is well aware of this, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

“It is a glaring admission by the Pakistan leadership. We have been saying repeatedly that it is time for Pakistan to take credible and irreversible action against terrorists,” he observed even as Khan, back in the country after a three-day visit to the US, said he felt like he had again won the World Cup. The Pakistan PM, while admitting that tens of thousands of people with dented records were still in Pakistan, also claimed previous dispensations had not been upfront about admitting the presence of 40 militant groups on Pakistani soil.

“They should make sure that the safe havens and sanctuaries in Pakistan should be neutralised. We feel that half-hearted measures to please the international community won’t do,” added Raveesh Kumar.

Despite Khan’s claim that his foreign trip was spectacularly successful, sources here pointed out that he had returned with no overt promises from the US of resuming aid that Pakistan desperately needs for its military and social sector. They pointed out that the overtly friendly gestures by US President were aimed at ensuring that Pakistan did not play spoilsport at a time when Washington wants to extricate itself from Afghanistan.

They also took on Khan for suggesting Pakistan had turned a corner in 2014 after the Peshawar school attack when he claimed all political parties decided to jointly combat terrorism.

The sources wanted to know why the ranks of militants had not depleted in these five years and despite this claimed political consensus, why did these militants continued with their armed depredation in India.

The sources drew attention to Khan’s entourage that included army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, and ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed to indicate the reality of rival centres of power in Pakistan. Khan was forced to be accompanied by army generals to signal to the US that Pakistan’s rival centres of power were on the same page as him. However, Kumar sought to end the controversy over Trump’s claim that PM Narendra Modi had asked him to mediate on the Kashmir issue.

“We should move on, we have moved on,” he said, while drawing attention to the depth and breadth of Indo-US ties which, he suggested, was unlikely to be shaken by a stray comment that had already been clarified by the US State Department and denied in Parliament by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

The US media has already hauled Trump over the coals for undoing the achievements of his predecessors on India by “blundering” to volunteer to mediate over the Kashmir issue. Trump has committed “diplomatic malpractice of a high order” by revealing a privileged conversation with PM Modi, said the Washington Post.

‘Feels like I have won World Cup’

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said the “rousing welcome” accorded to him by his supporters after his first official visit to the US made him feel as if he has won the cricket World Cup for the country. “I felt as if I came home after winning the World Cup and not from an official visit,” Khan, the former captain of the Pakistani cricket team, which won the cricket World Cup in 1992, said. pti

What Pak PM said in America

• Pakistan still hosting 30,000-40,000 armed men who had fought in Kashmir or Afghanistan
• Previous governments were not forthcoming on admitting presence of 40 militant groups on Pakistan soil

Mediation claim a blunder: US Media

Trump just committed diplomatic malpractice of a high order… After his trade war with India, his blundering into the Kashmir conflict further alienates an important country whose friendship the US needs to counter the rise of China. The Washington Post

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The standoff was finally resolved after the PLA stopped the road construction, following which India withdrew its troops. AFP file

Beijing, July 24

The Chinese military on Wednesday said it is striving to promote security and stability along the India-China border and has created “favourable conditions” to resolve the Doklam standoff in 2017.

A white paper titled ‘China’s National Defence in the New Era’, released by the Chinese Defence Ministry here touched upon various aspects of its military development comparing with India, US, Russia and other countries.

About the situation at the Sino-Indian border, the white paper said the Chinese military “strive to promote stability and security along the border with India, and taken effective measures to create favourable conditions for the peaceful resolution of the Donglang (Doklam) standoff”.

The reference to Doklam in the white paper was significant in the backdrop of the reports that China continued to reinforce its troops not far from the standoff site.

The standoff began when Indian troops objected to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) building a road close to the narrow Chicken Neck corridor connecting with the North-Eastern states in an area also claimed by Bhutan.

The standoff, which led severe disruption of relations between the two countries, was finally resolved after the PLA stopped the road construction, following which India withdrew its troops.

The standoff led to both the countries revamping their ties with the first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in 2018 which paved the way for the normalisation of the ties.

President Xi is due to visit India later this year for the second informal summit, which is expected to further solidify the relations between the two counties.

The India-China border dispute covered 3,488 km and the two countries have so far held 21 rounds of talks to resolve the issue.

The white paper also highlighted the intensification of competition between the two million strong Chinese military with that of its counterparts in India, US, Russia and other countries.

“Global military competition is intensifying. Major countries around the world are readjusting their security and military strategies and military organisational structures. They are developing new types of combat forces to seize the strategic commanding heights in military competition,” it said.

The US, the white paper noted, is engaging in technological and institutional innovation in pursuit of absolute military superiority.

Russia is advancing its ‘New Look’ military reform, while the UK, France, Germany, Japan and India are re-balancing and optimising the structure of their military forces.

“Driven by the new round of technological and industrial revolution, the application of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information, big data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things are gathering pace in the military field,” it said.

The white paper noted that the international military competition is undergoing historic changes. New and high-tech military technologies based on IT are developing rapidly. There is a prevailing trend to develop long-range precision, intelligent, stealthy or unmanned weaponry and equipment.

“War is evolving in form towards informationised warfare, and intelligent warfare is on the horizon,” it said.

The defence white paper also sought to play down heavy military expenditure, saying that China is spending less on defence budgets in terms of GDP in comparison to India, US and other countries.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the leading international defence think tank, China, the second-largest spender of defence in the world, increased its military expenditure by 5.0 per cent to USD 250 billion in 2018 against India’s USD 66.5 billion.

The US, which is the largest spender of defence, spent USD 649 billion in 2018.

Arguing that China’s defence expenditure is reasonable and appropriate, the white paper stated that the country attends to both development and security.

“It is making an integrated effort to build a prosperous country and a strong military, and striving for the coordinated development of national defence and the economy,” it said and claimed that China’s defence expenditure is open and transparent.

Compared to other major countries, the ratios of China’s defence expenditure to GDP and to government expenditure, as well as the per capita defence expenditure of the country, remain at a relatively low level, it said.

As the only major country yet to be completely reunified, and one of the countries with the most complex peripheral security environment, China faces serious challenges in safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and maritime rights and interests, the white paper said.

China is moving closer to the centre of the world stage, and the international community expects more international public security goods from the Chinese military, it said.

There is still a wide gap between China’s defence expenditure and the requirements for safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, for fulfilling China’s international responsibilities and obligations as a major country, and for China’s development.

In step with national economic development, defence expenditure of China will maintain a moderate and steady growth, the white paper said. PTI