India should not delay opening of Kartarpur Corridor: Shah Mehmood
02 April, 2019
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Monday asked India not to delay the opening of Kartarpur Corridor and settle all differences through bilateral talks.
Addressing a press conference along with Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar here at the Governor House, he said despite tensions with India in the wake of Pulwama incident, Pakistan participated in talks on Kartarpur Corridor. Pakistan wants to move forward and improve its relations with India, he said. “India should not shy away from Kartarpur Corridor talks scheduled for April 2 (today). Pakistan is more than willing to address all reservations expressed by India,” he added.
The minister said Pakistan has adopted a principled stance that Kartarpur Corridor should be opened for the Sikh community residing all over the world. Pakistan desires to open more border crossings for pilgrims from India, he added.
Qureshi said the new visa policy is part of the government’s efforts to attract foreign tourists to the country. People from 50 countries will be provided visa on arrival, while those from 172 countries will have e-visa facility. The government wants to remove barriers and promote tourism, he added.
About the FATF sanctions, the minister said the country was placed in the grey list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government. However, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is taking initiatives to avert the country being put in its blacklist, he said. “Being in FATF’s grey list has caused a loss of $10 billion to the country, while the cost of being included in the blacklist will be even higher,” he added.
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