Sidhu defends himself over Pak visit row

After facing backlash for sitting beside Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir President, Masood Khan and hugging Pakistan Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa during Islamabad visit, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday defended himself.

Upon returning to India after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Sidhu said, "If one is invited as a guest of honour somewhere, then they have to sit wherever they are asked to. I was sitting somewhere else but they asked me to sit there."

Further giving clarification on his hug with the Pakistan Army Chief, the Congress leader said, "If someone (Pakistan Army Chief General Bajwa) comes and says that we belong to the same culture and we will open Kartarpur border on Guru Nanak Dev's 550th Prakash Parv, what else I could do?"

Sidhu, who shared space with the PoK President during Khan's oath-taking ceremony and hugged the Pakistan Army Chief, has drawn a flak and strong reactions from several quarters in India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed Sidhu's visit as a crime. Addressing the media, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Saturday said, "Navjot Singh Sidhu is not just an individual but also a member of a political party and a cabinet minister in the Punjab government. The Congress needs to answer some serious questions in this regard. Navjot must have known that this man is the so-called President of PoK. He should have objected to sitting next to him."

Sidhu visited Pakistan after he was invited by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for his oath-taking ceremony on August 18.