Kartarpur corridor: India suggests second week of July for talks to Pakistan

New Delhi, June 30: India has proposed new dates to hold talks with Pakistan on the outstanding technical issues pertaining to the construction of Kartarpur corridor tentatively in the second week of July, stated the government sources.

India had earlier conveyed its strong concerns to Pakistan over the presence of a leading Khalistani separatist in a committee appointed by Islamabad on the Kartarpur project.

Earlier in the month of April, the two neighbours had held a meeting with regard to the construction of Kartarpur Sahib corridor, according to government sources.

The meeting comes after India postponed the second round of talks on corridor after reports surfaced about the appointment of "controversial elements" by Pakistan in a committee associated with the corridor.

More than 45 per cent of work on the Indian side has been completed.

The two countries were previously slated to meet on April 2, in Pakistan for the second round of talks, which was postponed.

Despite the postponement, India offered to hold a technical meeting to discuss other aspects, according to India's Ministry of External Affair Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

India is aiming to complete the road by the end of September in 2019 and the passenger/pilgrim terminal by end October, 2019, in time to operationalise the Kartarpur corridor on the occasion of the 550th birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November, 2019.

Kartarpur is located in Pakistan's Narowal district across the Ravi river, about four km from Dera Baba Nanak.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had, on November 26 last year, laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor in Gurdaspur district. Two days later, the Pakistani prime minister laid the foundation stone of the corridor in Narowal, around 125 km from Lahore.