Punjab CM declines Pakistan's invite for Kartarpur corridor ceremony, cites continued terror attacks as reason

NEW DELHI: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday declined Pakistan's invitation to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor on November 28, 2018. The Chief Minister cited continued terrorist attacks in Punjab and the killings of Indian soldiers by Pakistani armed forces as the reason for his refusal to attend the event.

His response comes hours after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi extended an invite to him to visit Pakistan. Along with the Punjab CM, Pakistan had also sent invites to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu. 

Swaraj had already rejected the offer on Saturday and said that Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri will travel to Pakistan for the groundbreaking ceremony.

"Since I am unable to travel to Kartarpur Sahib on the scheduled date, Government of India will be represented by my esteemed colleagues Mrs Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Mr H S Puri (sic)," she tweeted.

However, Sidhu has accepted the invitation and has sent an application to the Ministry of External Affairs for an approval. This will be Sidhu's second visit to Pakistan this year after he attended the oath ceremony of Pakistan PM Imran Khan in Islamabad.