Government confident of meeting Kartarpur corridor deadline, work moving in right direction, says EAM S Jaishankar

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Tuesday said the government was confident of meeting Kartarpur corridor deadline and the work on the same is moving in the right direction. [caption id=“attachment_7356951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. ANI[/caption] “I think most of the issues related to Kartarpur Sahib have been resolved. I think they are moving in the right direction and there is an expectation, there is a deadline, which we have to meet so we are confident of doing that,” the EAM said during a briefing on the 100-day achievements of the MEA under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term in power. When asked about the possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on the sidelines of the UNGA, the EAM hinted at no such meeting taking place in the US. “Regarding UNGA, whether there will be a meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan, in principle I do not comment on what can happen. However just look at the climate of relations right now, I think that itself should give you an answer”, Jaishankar said while replying to a question. Earlier on Monday, Pakistan’s project director on the corridor, Atif Majeed had said that Pakistan will inaugurate Kartarpur corridor on 9 November, just two days before the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Earlier that day, a team of Union home ministry officials inspected the ongoing construction work for Kartarpur corridor on the Indian side at Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur in the Indian state of Punjab. India has asked Pakistan to “reconsider” its decision to charge $20 as service charge from pilgrims to visit the Kartarpur Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan. The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab and facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev.