Wednesday 23 September 2015

Bus to Nankana -Amrinder calls on Natwar (Jey Sikh Sikh Nu nan marey.....)

Bus to Nankana -Amrinder calls on Natwar (Jey Sikh Sikh Nu nan marey.....)

B.S GorayaOct 2, 2005
Bus to Nankana -Amrinder calls on Natwar (Jey Sikh
Sikh Nu nan.......)

The Ajit daily has reported that Amrinder Singh CM has
met the External Affairs minister to demand Bus to
Nanakana sahib:-
http://www.ajitjalandhar.com/20051002/

Amrinder calls on Natwar for Bus to Nankana Sahib
Captain has stressed that discussions be held with
Pakistan on starting of Bus service to Nankana Sahib
on the birthday gurpurab i.e Nov. 15. It be noted that
Natwar Singh is proceeding to Pakistan on Sunday.
We can perhaps be hopeful on the positive results of
dialogue because Natwar Singh from the erstwhile
princely family of Bharatpur (Rajasthan) is related to
Amrinder. Natwar is Amrinder's 'Jija' brother in law.
May Guru Nanak's choicest blessing be on Captain
Amrinder Singh for taking up the issue of Sikh
pilgrimage. He is the only politician who takes up
Sikh and Punjab issues. Last year he got the historic
bill on termination of agreements on river water got
passed. In August last year he vigorously pursued the
Kartarpur Corridor case with the centre. Then in the
end of August when the corridor acceptance had
become imminent and Prime Minister S. Manmohan Singh
was to announce it on Sept. 1, the Hindutava agents
used the services of a Sikh Tokarhboch who has an
image of a long standing Khalistani but in fact is
the agent of secret agencies. Tokarhboch immediately
called a press conference and demanded immediate
acceptance of Pakistan's corridor plan. He thundered
that in case the Delhi did not accept the Sikh demand
he would march to Kartarpur on Sept. 22 breaking all
frontiers and barriers of barbed wire etc. I
immediately phoned my colleagues that corridor plain
stands sabotaged. Mr. Randhawa then our Chief
protested at my comments and alleged that I had
suspicious nature. He said every Sikh has got a right
to demand corridor in his own way. I remained silent
until Sept. 22 and waited for Tokarhboch's march to
border. But I was proved right. Tokarhboch had
forgotten his pledge.
But in the meanwhile the Govt agencies must have
reported to the Delhi that Kartarpur was in fact the
demand of the Khalistanis. Then perhaps we all were
labeled as such.
Then came Prime Minister to Amritsar and maintained a
calculated silence on Kartarpur until S.Parkash Singh
Badal who had then got the wind of Kartarpur made a
demand for Corridor. PM then declared that he would
work for that. But before PM took up the case of
corridor the Hindutava card had reached at his table.
I remember one Sikh leader named Bakshi Jagdev Singh
had painted slogans on Delhi walls, ' Jey Sikh, Sikh
nu nan marey: tan Kaum kade nan Harey..'
But then here is Natwar's Agenda on his coming
Pakistan visit:-
------------------
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/index.html

Armed with visa power, Natwar goes to Pakistan
PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA
Sunday, October 02, 2005 at 0115 hours IST

ISLAMABAD, OCTOBER 1: In trying to take the peace
process forward after the slight chill in New York,
External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh is bringing
with him a proposal to revamp the rigid 20-year-old
visa protocol and remove restrictions peculiar to the
two countries.

As Singh arrives here tomorrow—he will meet Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz—the idea is to include more categories
like business visas, tourist visas to groups, student
visas besides increasing number of days and number of
places allowed for travel for people from either side.

Sources said the slew of confidence-building measures
to ease travel between the two countries have been
hindered by the stringent visa protocol.

The move to change this is also in step with the Civil
Aviation Ministry’s proposal to do away with the
restriction on points of origin so that people can
enter and exit either country from different points.
The Ministry also plans to increase the number of
flights to 19 from the existing 12 and add Hyderabad
and Kolkata to the points of call for Pak airlines.

India is keen to formalise the understanding on
allowing group tourism by designated travel agents.
This been in the works for a while and, sources say,
both sides agreed to implement this in-principle in
the last composite dialogue.

This would mean that designated travel agents on
either side can take groups of tourists on a special
visa. A list of designated travel agents will be
handed over to Pak authorities at a presentation in
the first meeting of the Joint Commission on Tuesday.

India is open to the idea of exempting most of these
categories from police reporting. At least where
groups are involved, the process of designating tour
operators will address security issues related to
police reporting.

There is also the proposal from the meeting of the
last Joint Commission in 1989 to increase the number
of places on a single visa to eight.

Both sides had agreed to this then, but before its
implementation the relationship entered a new low.

Putting people to people on fast track

New Delhi will propose to add the following new visa
categories and is open to making most of these exempt
from police reporting
• Multiple-entry business visas
• Increase number of destinations on a single visa to
eight
• Visa-on-arrival at Wagah for those above 65 and
below 12 years of age
• Student visas to those who secured admission in
recognised Indian institutions
• Group visas to tourists and pilgrims being taken by
designated travel agents
• Visas to pilgrims for centres listed by both sides.
India proposes to expand this list
• Liberal issue of medical/health visas

----
B.S.Goraya
Amritsar, East Punjab (India)
Editor

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