Manmohan Singh hails Kartarpur corridor decision but warns against hurdles

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh Saturday welcomed the building of the Kartarpur corridor, linking India's border district of Gurdaspur with the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments that the corridor will act as a bridge between the people of the two countries, Singh, however, cautioned that there were many hurdles to cross before it could be achieved.

"There are many hurdles and one should not underestimate those hurdles. But any beginning is a good beginning, I hope it is successful," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference titled "Towards Peace, Harmony and Happiness: Transition to Transformation", organised by the Pranab Mukherjee Foundation.

Singh, however, did not say what he thought the hurdles were.

On first Sikh guru Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary Friday, Modi had said, "Had anyone ever thought that the Berlin Wall would fall? Maybe, with the blessings of Guru Nanak Devji, the Kartarpur corridor will not just remain a corridor, but act as a bridge between the people of the two countries."

Earlier, in a significant decision, the Union Cabinet had cleared a proposal Thursday to develop a corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district to the International Border to facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry Friday said Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu would visit the neighbouring country to attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Border corridor.

(With inputs from agencies.)