Pak rejects reports of terror camps near Kartarpur Sahib

Islamabad, Nov 05: Pakistan has rejected as "baseless" the media reports about the presence of alleged terrorist "training camps" in Punjab province's Narowal district near the famed Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, calling them a "malicious" propaganda campaign.

According to reports, intelligence agencies have spotted terrorist training activities in the border district of Narowal in Pakistan's Punjab province, the same district where Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is situated.

Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement that "Pakistan completely rejects baseless reports in a section of the Indian media, attributed to 'intelligence sources'."

It said Pakistan's Kartarpur spirit is aimed at facilitating Nanak Naamlevas (followers), especially Sikhs, to visit one of their most revered places of worship and promoting inter-faith harmony.

"The content of the media reports in question is part of a malicious propaganda campaign in India that cannot be condemned enough," the FO said.

It said that unfounded allegations about Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib being used for any purpose other than worship are a deliberate attempt to misrepresent Pakistan's goodwill gesture, undermine the corridor initiative, and hurt the religious sentiments of Sikhs all over the world.

"We have no doubt that such mischievous attempts would be rejected with the contempt that they deserve," according to the FO.

The Kartarpur Corridor is scheduled to be inaugurated on November 9.

The corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in Gurdaspur district of Indian Punjab with the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara located in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab.