Jammu, June 28 -- Four days after Delhi informed Islamabad it was downsizing its mission staff strength by half and asked it to do the same, Pakistan Saturday made a sudden offer to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib pilgrim-corridor on June 29.

Noting that it was being given a two-day notice as against the mutually agreed 7-day notice for travel, India said it would evaluate the offer before making any announcement, and that Pakistan was trying to create a "mirage of goodwill" by proposing resumption of the pilgrimage suspended in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The pandemic forced the government to order closure of public places and the pilgrimage via the corridor was suspended on March 16. The corridor, which opened November last year, wa...