Extending a warm welcome to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman on his return home, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has urged Pakistan to release the Prisoners of War (PoWs) still in its captivity from the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
In an informal chat with media as part of his tour of the border areas in the wake of the escalating tensions at the LoC (Line of Control), the Punjab CM also urged the Indian government to take up the issue with Islamabad.
Expressing happiness that talks to further thrash out the modalities for the Kartarpur Corridor were on track despite tensions, Captain Amarinder Singh requested New Delhi to allow 5,000-10,000 pilgrims to cross through every day once the corridor it becomes operational. He recalled his own family’s close connect with the Kartarpur Gurdwara, which his grandfather Bhupinder Singh had helped rebuild after the 1928 floods.
On the issue of compensation to people whose land was being acquired for the Corridor, Captain Singh said the state government will thrash out the matter with union government.
He hoped that tensions along the border are resolved soon and Sikhs across the globe get the opportunity to have ‘Khule Darshan Deedar’ of the historic Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara with the fast completion of the Corridor. He added that he would be the first one to cross the border to pay his obeisance at the historic Gurdwara.