india

Updated: Jul 12, 2019 13:57 IST

The external affairs ministry Thursday said India is fully committed to the Kartarpur Sahib corridor project and wants the work to be completed expeditiously. The assertion came after a section of media reported that India is lagging behind in the construction of the Kartarpur corridor.

“We are fully committed to this project and want it to be expeditiously completed,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at the weekly media briefing. He said the government is aware of the sentiments of people and pilgrims for the Kartarpur Sahib.

Kumar said the work on two important aspects — the state of the art passenger terminal and the four-lane highway which is going to connect the zero point of the Kartarpur corridor to the national highway — will be completed in time. “One (should be completed) by September 2019 and the other by October 2019. So the reports that we are slow on work is not the correct depiction,” Kumar said. The first meeting to finalise the modalities for the corridor took place on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border on March 14.

A meeting will be held on the Pakistan side of the Wagah border on July 14.

India pursuing naik’s extradition request

India continues to pursue its request for extradition of Zakir Naik and it has been informed by the Malaysian government that its appeal is under consultation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Thursday. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India is pursuing the matter not only through the Malaysian government but also through its High Commission.