Nature's fury has exposed Pakistan government's sham at Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur when thunderstorms smashed some of its newly renovated domes.
Sources in Islamabad confirmed social media reports that at least eight domes of the recently renovated Sikh shrine, collapsed during rain on Friday evening. This has caused major embarrassment to the Imran Khan government which had used the Kartarpur Corridor between India and Pakistan for strategic purposes to draw support from Indian Sikhs.
New Delhi and Islamabad had in November 2018 established a direct border-crossing linking Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Sikh founder Guru Nanak, with Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur, India.
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Tainted globally for exporting terrorism, Islamabad had used the Sikh pilgrimage as an image-building exercise by showcasing the corridor as Pakistan's initiative towards peace-building and communal harmony.
Sources on Sunday said that the domes at Kartarpur were constructed with cheap substandard material even when the Sikh community had objected to it.
Pakistan used pre-fabricated domes of fiberglass and screwed them to the structure, in a bid to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan's deadline and to reduce cost, according to sources.
Ironically, Pakistan has levied an entry fee of US$20 for visitors, to raise money for maintenance of the shrine.
India has taken up the issue of collapse of domes of the holy Gurudwara with Pakistan. Delhi has highlighted to Pakistan that the damage to the structures have caused great consternation to the Sikh community..
