J&K's Article 370 scrapped: Pakistan to continue Kartarpur talks despite downgrading diplomatic ties, Khalistani elements in Pak panel

As Pakistan severed tied with India taking an unilateral decision to downgrade diplomatic ties, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has called it a knee-jerk reaction and said that the developments in the talks to make the Kartarpur corridor is not 'jeopardized' with this development. Informing about continuation of talks on Kartarpur, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that 'Kashmir won't impact Kartarpur.'

Kartarpur Corridor 

Relenting under the pressure of the Indian government, Islamabad removed Khalistani radical Gopal Singh Chawla from the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Committee. India had categorically expressed its displeasure over the appointment of Chawla, who is known to be the right-hand man of 26/11 mastermind and UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed.  India sought clarification on his Chawla's role in the panel, further sought the steps taken by Pakistan to address the concerns over his involvement in anti-India activities, sources added, keeping in mind the highest priority for India is the security and safety of the Indian pilgrims in Pakistan, which the Indian side said is "non-negotiable". Earlier in March, India had summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah and conveyed concerns over the presence of a leading Khalistani separatist Chawla in the committee appointed by Pakistan on the Kartarpur Corridor project.

Meanwhile, as per government sources, there are some major differences between India and Pakistan over the construction of Kartarpur corridor. Sources have told that Pakistan has yet not agreed to build the elevated road asked by India to prevent the possible disruption caused by the flooding of Ravi river in the corridor path. While the neighbouring country has only agreed to build a causeway, India will have to build stairs on the way to thwart the problem for the Indian pilgrims. As present, 60% of the highway construction is over on the Indian side, along with the construction of passenger terminal which currently is also progressing well. However, the construction work on the Pakistan side remains relatively slow. 

India scraps Article 370

The Narendra Modi government on August 5 revoked Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Both the upper house and the lower house of the Parliament approved the resolution abrogating Article 370 for J&K and a bill to bifurcate the state into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, with Home Minister Amit Shah saying the controversial provisions were responsible for poverty and lack of development in the state. Ministry of External Affairs also briefed the envoys of the P5 nations -- the US, the UK, China, France and Russia -- about Indian government's decision to scrap Article 370 and bifurcate the state into two union territories.