Pakistan to go ahead with Saarc summit despite backlash
Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told the Radio Pakistan that Islamabad will host the summit in November, reports PTI.
However, Pakistan's move goes against the Saarc charter according to which the summit gets automatically postponed or cancelled even if one head of government skips the event.
It was earlier learnt from Indian external affairs ministry’s tweet that India is not going to participate in the Saarc summit, a decision which Zakaria termed as “unfortunate”.
"While we have not received any official communication in this regard, Indian announcement is unfortunate," he said.
The move seems stepping up of India's diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan globally after the recent Uri terror attack blamed by New Delhi on Islamabad.
Tensions between India and Pakistan are growing after militants stormed an Indian Army base in Uri on September 18, killing 18 soldiers.
Zakaria also said Pakistan is committed to regional peace and will continue working for the broader interest of the people of the region.
India is making propaganda to foil the conference that was scheduled to be held in November, reports Pakistan Today newspaper quoting Sartaj Aziz, adviser to prime minister of Pakistan on foreign affairs.
For Bangladesh, the reason is Pakistan's repeated interference in its internal affairs.
"We have formally communicated with the Nepal government and told it that we would not be able to attend the Saarc summit," a top official of the Bangladesh foreign ministry told The Daily Star yesterday.
Asked about the reason, the official said Dhaka in a formal letter has informed the Saarc chair that Islamabad made “uncalled for reactions after the execution of war criminals in Bangladesh that amount to direct interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, which is totally unacceptable.”
Besides Bangladesh and India, two other Saarc members - Bhutan and Afghanistan - have also pulled out of the summit, indirectly blaming Pakistan for "creating an environment which is not conducive for the successful holding" of the meet.
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