The opening of the Kartarpur corridor has been termed as ‘a step towards peace, which our region needs’ by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, as quoted by the Pakistani military spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Twitter.

“The barbed wire protection at the borders was just a security measure, taken by a sovereign state in order to keep a check upon the illegal crossings,” General Bajwa said, adding, “The gates were just for legal and peaceful visitors.”

Earlier, the Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had laid the foundation stone for the corridor - connecting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Narowal district with Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Gurdaspur district.

The COAS and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi were accompanying the premier as he arrived in Kartarpur. Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, Indian Food Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Indian Housing Minister Hardeep Puri stood alongside the premier as he laid the foundation stone.