'Don't mistake gratitude for weakness': Punjab CM on Pak minister's Kartarpur jibe

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday said that Pakistan Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid's disclosure that Kartarpur Corridor was the brainchild of their Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had exposed Islamabad's nefarious intent behind the initiative.

''Pakistan minister's disclosure on Kartarpur corridor has exposed their nefarious designs'' said Amarinder Singh

Even as he expressed serious concern over this admission by the Pak minister, the Chief Minister said that Rashid had completely bared open the wicked design of Pakistan behind the Corridor, which India had hoped would emerge as a bridge of peace between the two countries.

The Chief Minister also took strong exception to Rashid's remarks that "the Corridor would hurt India, which would forever remember the wound inflicted on it by Gen Bajwa with the Kartarpur Corridor."

Terming it an open and blatant threat against India's security and integrity, Captain Amarinder warned Pakistan not to attempt to indulge in any misadventure against its neighbour.

"Don't make the mistake of reading weakness in our gratitude for the opening of the Corridor," warned the Chief Minister, asserting that India would give a befitting response to any bid by Pakistan to attack its borders or its people.

Declaring that India would never let Pakistan fulfil its despicable ambitions against the former, he said any such attempt by Islamabad would be met with retaliation of the kind that they would never be able to survive.

Captain Amarinder recalled that he had all along maintained that while he was extremely happy, as a Sikh, at the opening of the Corridor to enable access to Indian devotees to the historic Kartarpur Gurdwara, the threat it posed to our country could not be ignored.

The Chief Minister had, in fact, been repeatedly urging caution over the matter, warning that Pakistan was trying to win the sympathies of the Sikhs by opening the corridor to further the ISI-backed Referendum 2020 agenda.

This had been quite evident from various facts, most notably that Bajwa had disclosed the Pakistani decision to build the Corridor to then Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu at the time of Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony, said the Chief Minister.

"Imran had not even taken over then, yet their Army Chief had spoken about this to Sidhu. How was it possible unless Bajwa was the one behind the Corridor decision," asked Captain Amarinder, recalling that he had pointed this out long back.

Read | 'Kartarpur corridor General Bajwa's brainchild,' says Pak railway minister

Given the revelation of the Pakistan minister, Captain Amarinder also urged Sidhu to be more cautious in his dealings with the Imran Khan government and not allow his personal friendship with the Pakistan Prime Minister cloud his judgement in any way, as that could be harmful to India's interests.