Pak PM takes dig at Indian leadership, praises Sidhu

Speaking at the goundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, Khan, who represented Pakistan on the cricket field when Sidhu played for India, said he didn't understand why Sidhu had courted controversy for attending Khan's oath-taking ceremony as Prime Minister earlier this year.

"Someone who came with the message of friendship and love... what's his crime?" he said. "And this is about the friendship between two countries, both of which are nuclear-armed."

"It is foolish for anyone to think there can be war between two nuclear-armed countries as there is no winning for anyone. So, if there can be no war then what other way is there other than friendship?" Khan said. "So, what is Sidhu's crime?"

In an apparent dig to the Indian political leadership, Khan said there were two kinds of politicians. "One who takes chances and dreams big. The other is scared and only tries to maintain their votebank. One seeks votes by bringing people together while the other inspires hatred among people to get votes."

Then he said in jest, "I hope it doesn't happen that we have to wait till Sidhu become India's Prime Minister for the two countries to become friends!"

"We want solid relations with India," Khan was quoted as saying by Geo News at the event.

Khan, who took oath as the PM of the nation this year, said: "All of Pakistan's institutions are on the same page today."

On developing the relationship between the two nations, Khan said, "If India takes one step forward, we will take two steps forward."

The Pakistan Prime Minister on Wednesday laid the foundation stone at the ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in presence of two Indian Ministers.
 
The corridor will link Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province, the final resting place of Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak, and the international border with India, facilitating Sikh pilgrims across the border.

Islamabad followed up India's decision to develop the Kartarpur corridor, last week and invited a few of Indian ministers to attend the ceremony in Pakistan.

Amid controversy over his visit, Punjab Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday through the Attari-Wagah joint check post, around 30 km from Amritsar, for Wednesday's foundation stone laying event.

At the ceremony, Sidhu seated next to Imran Khan. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Punjab Minister for Food Processing Industries also shared the stage with them.

Heaping praises on Imran Khan, whom he said "mere yaar, mere dildaar (my friend, my partner of heart), Sidhu said the Pak PM  has ended 70 years of wait."Long live India, long live Pakistan... there has been much of bloodshed...we need to change our thinking," Sidhu said while addressing the gathering.

Sidhu had earlier said the Kartarpur Corridor has the potential to erase enmity between India and Pakistan and bring peace in the subcontinent. He heaped praises on "friend" Imran Khan for ensuring that the corridor became a reality.