'Manmohan to attend Kartarpur opening as common pilgrim'

New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not attend the Kartarpur corridor inauguration on the invite of Pakistan next month, "but participate in the event as a common pilgrim", sources said on Sunday.

A senior Congress leader, who did not want to be identified, said that Manmohan Singh will not be attending the inauguration of the Kartarpur corridor on November 9 on Pakistan's invite.

The development came a day after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday claimed that the former Prime Minister has accepted his invitation to attend the scheduled opening next month of the gurdwara in Pakistan to Indian pilgrims to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

The party source said that there was "no question of the former Prime Minister going (for Pakistan's event)". "There is a huge difference between visiting Pakistan and going to the gurdwara through the corridor as a common pilgrim," he said.

Manmohan Singh would be a part of Sikh Jatha delegation led by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. They will pay obeisance at the shrine and would return on the same day.

The Punjab Chief Minister has earlier also invited President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the event organised by the state government.