Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
International

India to boycott Saarc Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan says 'unfortunate'

Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Sep, 2016 12:52 PM
    India on Tuesday announced it will not attend the Saarc Summit in Islamabad in November, saying that regional cooperation and terror don't go together.
     
    Pakistan has termed the boycott decision as "unfortunate".
     
    India, the largest member of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), announced its decision to pull out hours after Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit was summoned to South Block and handed over Pakistan's "proof of cross-border origin" of the September 18 Uri terror attack.
     
    In a statement, India said increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in the internal affairs of Saarc member-states "by one country" have created an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the 19th Saarc summit.
     
    Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that India has conveyed to current SAARC Chair Nepal its decision not to attend the summit, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was slated to go. 
     
    "India remains steadfast in its commitment to regional cooperation, connectivity and contacts but believes that these can only go forward in an atmosphere free of terror. 
     
    "In the prevailing circumstances, the government of India is unable to participate in the proposed Summit in Islamabad," he said in the statement.
     
    Swarup said that some other Saarc member-states have also conveyed their reservation about attending the Islamabad Summit in November 2016.
     
     
    The other countries unwilling to attend are said to be Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan, according to sources.
     
    The decision to pull out, marking a sharp escalation in India's attack on Pakistan for sponsoring terror, also comes a day after New Delhi decided to revisit the 56-year-old Indus Waters Treaty, and apportion more water to itself from river waters that have been used by Pakistan for decades. 
     
    Prime Minister Modi, chairing the meeting on the river waters treaty, is quoted as having said that "blood and water can't flow together".
     
    India is also planning to revoke the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan in trade, in another punishing measure.
     
    India has been hyping its diplomatic offensive against Pakistan over the past few days, over the latter's open backing of the Kashmir unrest and specially after the terror attack on an army camp in Uri on September 18 that left 18 soldiers dead.
     
    Prime Minister Modi had announced last week during the BJP conclave in Kerala that the sacrifices of the Indian soldiers killed in Uri would not go waste and India will diplomatically isolate Pakistan.
     
    Tuesday's move comes as in the United Nations General Assembly India has been unsparing in its attack on Pakistan for sponsoring terror. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the floor of the UNGA announced that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so.
     
     
    The chances of Prime Minister Modi attending the Saarc summit had dimmed ever since Pakistan was seen to be openly backing the Kashmir unrest and had termed Hizbul Mujahedin terrorist Burhan Wani a martyr and observed a Black Day in his honour. 
     
    In August, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Islamabad to attend a Saarc ministerial was clouded over by bad diplomatic vibes between the two nations over the Kashmir issue.
     
    Afghan envoy to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali told NDTV last week that his country was willing to consider a joint boycott of the Saarc summit along with India and other members.
     
    Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner Basit for the second time since the Uri attack and handed over the evidence to him on the two arrested guides. Basit dismissed the proof as an attempt by India to divert world attention from alleged violation of rights in Jammu and Kashmir. 
     
    Jaishankar gave Basit a diplomatic note, stating that three days after the killing of 18 soldiers, villagers in Uri caught two residents of Pakistan-administered Kashmir who had acted as guides for the four attackers who sneaked into the army camp near the Line of Control (LoC).
     
    The two -- Faizal Hussain Awan, 20, and Yasin Khursheed, 19, both residents of Muzaffarabad -- were handed over to Indian security forces and are now in Indian custody. India has also offered consular access to the two arrested Muzaffarabad guides.
     
     
    Reacting to India's decision to pull out, the Pakistan Foreign Office, termed the decision as "unfortunate". It also hit out at the "excuse used by India" and said the world knows that "it is India that is perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan", and cited the "public confession" by alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav as "living proof".

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Second Ferry To Ease 'Nightmare' Lineups, Delays To Fogo Island Tourism Hot Spot

    Second Ferry To Ease 'Nightmare' Lineups, Delays To Fogo Island Tourism Hot Spot
    FOGO ISLAND, N.L. — It's hoped a second ferry that started today will ease what critics have called a "nightmare" commute in recent weeks to one of Newfoundland's hottest tourism draws — Fogo Island.

    Second Ferry To Ease 'Nightmare' Lineups, Delays To Fogo Island Tourism Hot Spot

    Australia To Return Stolen 1,800-Year-Old Buddha Statue To India

    Australia To Return Stolen 1,800-Year-Old Buddha Statue To India
    An 1,800-year-old Buddha statue which was displayed in the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) is being prepared for its return to India, after it was found to have been purchased from an illegal antiquity trafficker, authorities said on Friday.

    Australia To Return Stolen 1,800-Year-Old Buddha Statue To India

    'Disordered Eating' Rates Troubling Among Young Lesbians, Bisexuals, Gays: Study

    'Disordered Eating' Rates Troubling Among Young Lesbians, Bisexuals, Gays: Study
    VANCOUVER — Gay, lesbian and bisexual youth are continuing to purge, fast or take diet pills to lose weight while rates for such behaviour among heterosexuals have decreased, a University of British Columbia study says.

    'Disordered Eating' Rates Troubling Among Young Lesbians, Bisexuals, Gays: Study

    Terror In Munich: 'Several Dead' And 10 Injured In Shooting Rampage Inside A Shopping Centre

    Terror In Munich: 'Several Dead' And 10 Injured In Shooting Rampage Inside A Shopping Centre
    Police have confirmed that at least one person has died as a result of the incident and German media have reported there may be up to 15 killed. Two gunmen are believed to be on the loose.

    Terror In Munich: 'Several Dead' And 10 Injured In Shooting Rampage Inside A Shopping Centre

    Rift At Republican Convention Erupts In Boos: First For Trump, Then For Cruz

    Rift At Republican Convention Erupts In Boos: First For Trump, Then For Cruz
    CLEVELAND — The lingering tensions within the Republican party erupted on the floor of its national convention in a boo-soaked spectacle destined for the highlight reel of an already-historic election year.

    Rift At Republican Convention Erupts In Boos: First For Trump, Then For Cruz

    Funeral Service For Sara Baillie, Five-Year-old Daughter Taliyah Marsman

    Funeral Service For Sara Baillie, Five-Year-old Daughter Taliyah Marsman
    CALGARY — A funeral service will be held today for Sara Baillie and her five-year-old daughter, Taliyah Marsman.

    Funeral Service For Sara Baillie, Five-Year-old Daughter Taliyah Marsman