Pakistan, Oct. 26 -- Indian Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has expressed a desire to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore next month, although he doubts the BJP-led government in New Delhi will allow him to cross the border. Speaking in the Punjab Assembly on Friday, Mann recalled the shared cultural heritage of the two Punjabs and called for the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor, which India suspended in May 2025.

Elsewhere in the neighbourhood, the winds appear to be blowing in a different direction. Earlier this month, a 15-member cultural delegation from Bangladesh landed in Islamabad after a gap of three decades. The visit followed the restoration of direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi in January. Last week, Mal...