New Delhi: Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu met foreign minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday and urged her to initiate a dialogue with Pakistan for the opening up of the Katarpur Sahib corridor. In the meeting, Swaraj expressed her reservations over Sidhu’s conduct during his recent visit to Pakistan.

Union minister and Akali leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal claimed that Swaraj “reprimanded” Sidhu for “messing up” the issue and accused him of “misusing” the political clearance granted to him for visiting Pakistan to attend prime minister Imran Khan’s swearing-in ceremony.

She tweeted, “External Affairs Minister (Swaraj) reprimanded Sidhu for messing up Kartarpur Sahib corridor dialogue and misusing political clearance granted for a private visit by hugging military chief responsible for killing our soldiers”.

 

According to sources, Swaraj told Sidhu that he should not “politicise” the issue of Kartarpur corridor which is quite “sensitive”.

Sidhu sparked controversy by hugging Pakistan army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa when he told Sidhu that the Pakistan government was working on the opening of the Katarpur Sahib corridor for Sikh pilgrims from Punjab.