The government has given political clearance to former Punjab minister Navjot Sidhu to attend the Kartarpur corridor opening ceremony in Pakistan. This comes hours after he wrote fourth letter to the Ministry of External Affairs ministry seeking clearance to attend the event. The cricketer-turned-politician had been invited by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to attend the Kartarpur Corridor opening ceremony on November 9. In his latest letter to the government, Sidhu had mentioned that if it has inhibitions, he will not go to Kartarpur but the government must clear its stand. The Congress leader wrote that if he receives no response to the latest letter he will visit the shrine across the border like "any other pilgrim". The Kartarpur Corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, just 4 kilometres from the International Border, located at Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province. The year 2019 marks the 550th birth anniversary year of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, whose birthplace is Sri Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. The corridor has been established to commemorate his birth anniversary. Pakistan issues visa to Sidhu Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday said that it has issued a visa to Navjot Singh Sidhu to attend the inauguration of Kartarpur Corridor on November 9. "Pakistan has issued visa to Indian politician Navjot Singh Sidhu for his visit to holy shrine of Baba Guru Nanak," Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Sidhu had come under fire from the opposition after he had hugged Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa during the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Imran Khan in August last year.
