Pakistan rejects Indian tourism plans in Siachen

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said the Siachen area, the world’s highest battlefield, was a disputed territory and could not be opened for tourism by India.

Responding to media reports that India was starting tourism in the Siachen area, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Muhammad Faisal said, “India forcibly occupied Siachen Glacier and it is a disputed area. How can India open it for tourism?”

On October 21, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the Indian government had decided to open the entire area from Siachen base camp to Kumar Post for tourism purposes.

On Thursday, Faisal added that Pakistan was not expecting anything good or positive from India in the matter.

Faisal alleged India was creating hurdles for pilgrims visiting Kartarpur which was opened this month, celebrating the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

He said that 5,000 people were allowed to visit the shrine but the actual numbers were lower than expected.

The Kartarpur Corridor was thrown open by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 9, facilitating Indian pilgrims to visit one of Sikhism’s holiest shrines in the Pakistani town of Narowal.

The corridor links Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak.