New Pak High Commissioner to India not to attend July 14 Kartarpur talks

Newly appointed Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Mueenul Haq, will not take part in the second meeting on the operationalisation of the Kartarpur Corridor scheduled to be held on July 14 on the Pakistan side of the border.

By By Ashoke Raj Newly appointed Pakistan High Commissioner to India, Mueenul Haq, will not take part in the second meeting on the operationalisation of the Kartarpur Corridor scheduled to be held on July 14 on the Pakistan side of the border.

"Mueenul Haq will join office in the last week of this month. He will not be participating in the talks on the Kartarpur Corridor on July 14," diplomatic sources in New Delhi told ANI. Haq succeeds Sohail Mehmood. The sources said that the Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan will be present in the meeting along with his country's team.

The second round of talks on the corridor was announced after the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The first round was held on March 14 on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border. Pakistan is all set to give a presentation on the latest development on the Kartarpur corridor, the sources said.

The Indian side has expressed concern since Pakistan has announced that only 700 Indian devotees could visit Kartarpur Sahib for commemorating Gurpurab -- the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Govind Singh-- after paying the visa fee. Earlier, the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee had written a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking an increase in the number of devotees to 5000 in a day and allowing them without a visa.

Asked about Modi and Khan jointly inaugurating the corridor before Gurpurab, the sources said, "It is speculation which is in Pakistan. There has been no discussion on it yet." (ANI)

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