Ex-PM Manmohan Singh welcomes govt decision to develop Kartarpur corridor

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh Saturday welcomed the building of the Kartarpur corridor, linking India's border district of Gurdaspur with the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan.

Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments that the corridor will act as a bridge between the people of the two countries, Singh, however, cautioned that there were many hurdles to cross before it could be achieved.

"There are many hurdles and one should not underestimate those hurdles. But any beginning is a good beginning, I hope it is successful," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference titled "Towards Peace, Harmony and Happiness: Transition to Transformation", organised by the Pranab Mukherjee Foundation.

Singh, however, did not say what he thought the hurdles were.

On first Sikh guru Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary Friday, Modi had said, "Had anyone ever thought that the Berlin Wall would fall? Maybe, with the blessings of Guru Nanak Devji, the Kartarpur corridor will not just remain a corridor, but act as a bridge between the people of the two countries."