No info on Pak's Kartarpur invite, Manmohan Singh unlikely to go, says Congress sources

New Delhi, Sep 30: With Pakistan deciding to invite Manmohan Singh to attend the inaugural ceremony of the landmark Kartarpur Corridor in November, the former prime minister's office said it has no information about the invite so far and sources indicated that he is unlikely to attend.

While the Congress remained tight-lipped about the issue, sources said the office of the former prime minister has no information about the invite so far. The sources said he is unlikely to go as he had not visited Pakistan even during his tenure as prime minister for 10 years.

Earlier, the Pakistan government had on Monday decided to invite Manmohan Singh to attend the inaugural ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in November, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Monday.

The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will only have to obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib.

Pakistan is scheduled to open the Kartarpur corridor for Indian Sikh pilgrims on November 9.

"The Kartarpur corridor inauguration is a big programme and Pakistan is preparing for it in a big way. We have decided to invite India's former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to grace the event... We will send a formal letter to him soon," Qureshi said told Capital TV. He said Singh represents the Sikh community.

"We are also very happy to receive the Sikh pilgrims who are coming to Kartarpur to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak," Qureshi said.