Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan to open the border between Punjab provinces on two sides for trade.
"When Karachi-Mumbai route can be opened for the rich, why can't Lahore-Amritsar route be opened for common Punjabis? Why should Punjab not come to visit Nankana Sahib? Why should tourism not be promoted?" Sidhu said.
He told reporters here that opening the Punjab border for cross-border trade will be a "golden opportunity.
"If this happens, both Punjabs, both nations will progress within six months as much as they should have in 60 years. It's a golden opportunity to change the lives of people. I request Modi Sahab and Khan Sahab to open the doors. Trade has (Rs) 275,000 crore potential," he said.
"I request that if you want to change lives in Punjab, we should open the borders (for cross-border trade). Why should we go through Mundra Port, a total of 2,100 km? Why not from here, where it's only 21 km (to Pakistan)," he added.
Sidhu went to Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan through the Kartarpur Corridor which was reopened earlier this week ahead of Parkash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev.
He expressed happiness over its reopening and credited it to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan.
"With the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan, this has been made possible," Sidhu said.
The Kartarpur Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.
The corridor, which was opened in 2019, was closed in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
( With inputs from ANI )
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