Pakistan has been inflexible during Kartarpur talks: MEA

During a weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar has revealed that Pakistan had displayed inflexibility thrice during Kartarpur talks. Affirming that Indian side of the corridor will be completed before the scheduled deadline which is November 1st, Raveesh has also urged leadership in Islamabad to show some flexibility so that talks can proceed without any hindrances.

New Delhi:In an astonishing revelation, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar claimed that Indian side had to deal with inflexibility from Pakistan thrice during Kartarpur talks.

During the weekly press briefing, Raveesh said, "There were instances when we realised that Pakistan is quite inflexible during the talks."

He pointed out three instances when India had to face Pakistan's inflexibility: Pakistan's demand of $20 service fee per pilgrim from India, disagreement towards the initially proposed numbers (10,000 pilgrims) from India, and last but not the least is the presence of consular officer during the entire pilgrimage.

Affirming that Indian side of the corridor will be completed before the scheduled deadline of November 1st, Raveesh also urged leadership in Islamabad to show some flexibility so that talks can proceed without any hindrances.

So far, three Joint Secretary level delegation meetings have been held. The last meeting took place at Attari on September 4 in which both sides couldn't come to an agreement on $20 service per pilgrim.

Meanwhile, both countries have agreed on visa-free travel by Indian pilgrims to the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara. They also agreed that 5,000 pilgrims from India could do pilgrimage every day denying India's request of 10,000 citing infrastructure reasons.

This corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur. Despite issues over the modalities, both sides have set goals to complete the work before 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Sahib in November.

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