ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: While Congress functionary and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu 's Pakistan visit had government approval, the excitable former Indian cricketer became the centre of a controversy by agreeing to park himself on a seat right next to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir "president" Masood Khan at Imran Khan's swearing-in on Saturday.

Apart from the seating order, Sidhu was also noticed hugging Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa twice. Bajwa hugged Sidhu, who was seated in the front row, and both chatted briefly. Warm smiles were exchanged. As the two chatted, they hugged once more, leading to BJP demanding that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi act against Sidhu and sharp reactions on social media.

Given India's position on PoK, the government doesn't recognise Masood and holds no elected Indian representative should share a platform with him. Some in the government seem to believe that the seating arrangement by Pakistani agencies was deliberate to again underline the centrality of the Kashmir issue for Islamabad. Sidhu shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with Masood too.

Sidhu later said, "Bajwa came to me and said we were thinking of opening the Kartarpur route on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev." Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jhakar said the visit should be seen as a sportsman responding to another, but added that it was for the new Pakistan PM to prove that he is not a puppet in the hands of the Pakistan army.

Talking to state-run PTV, Sidhu used his usual poetic expressions to praise Khan and hoped that his accession to the PM’s post will be good for the India-Pakistan peace process. The two countries have had no substantive dialogue since December 2015 when foreign minister Sushma Swaraj travelled to Islamabad for a multilateral conference.

While Imran reached out to India in his victory speech, he also made it clear that Kashmir remained the core issue for Pakistan and mentioned the alleged human rights violations by Indian forces in the Valley. The Indian government believes that PoK is under illegitimate control of Pakistan as it is, like the rest of J&K, an integral part of India. “A new morning is here in Pakistan with a new government which can change the destiny of the country,” said Sidhu.

Sidhu arrived in Lahore on Friday via the Wagah border. On his arrival in Pakistan, Sidhu said Khan should come forward in a peace initiative between the two neighbours.

He said he has brought “a message of love” to Pakistan as a goodwill ambassador of India. “I have come here not as a politician but as a friend. I have come here to take part in the happiness of my friend (Imran),” he said.

