Just a day ahead of the second round ofIndia-Pakistan official talks to decide on the modalities of the KartarpurCorridor, Islamabad has removed a prominent Khalistani separatist Gopal SinghChawla from the country's top Sikh body. According to reports, Chawla has beenremoved from the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Prabandak Committee (PSGPC) ahead ofthe crucial talks between the two sides.  India had raised serious objections to thepresence of Gopal Singh Chawla, a known Khalistani and a close aide of 26/11mastermind Hafiz Saeed, and had postponed the second round of Kartarpur talkswhich were earlier scheduled for April 2, 2019.

PSGPC oversees all the gurudwaras in Pakistan, including theKartarpur Gurudwara and the corridor. The notification regarding PSGPC memberswas issued by the Pakistan government late on Friday. The new notificationincludes four members from Pakistan's Punjab province, three from northernKyber Pakhtunkhwa, two from Sindh and one from Balochistan.

On various occasions in past, India has raised its concernson Khalistani propaganda at Sikh Shrines in Pakistan and, this time, the issueis expected to come up again during the second round of Kartarpur talks.TheKartarpur talks, which will be held at the Wagah Border on Sunday, will see NewDelhi taking up a number of issues with Pakistan which includes the number ofvisitors that can be allowed, infrastructure, safety and security of pilgrims.Themeeting is scheduled to begin around 9 AM and is expected to conclude around 1PM with both sides holding separate press conferences after the talks.

The Indian delegation will be led by SCL Das, JointSecretary (Internal Security) in MHA and Joint Secretary (PAI-Pakistan,Afghanistan and Iran) MEA, Deepak Mittal while Pakistani side will berepresented by Director-General South Asia and SAARC Dr Mohammad Faisal.