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India to boycott SAARC summit in Pakistan: officials

Xinhua, September 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

India has decided to boycott the upcoming regional meeting South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) summit in Pakistan, officials said.

The summit is scheduled to be held in Pakistan in November this year and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was supposed to travel to Islamabad to attend the regional summit.

India's foreign ministry said it has conveyed the SAARC chair its decision regarding not attending the summit.

"The Government of India is unable to participate in the proposed summit in Islamabad," a statement issued by foreign ministry said.

"India has conveyed to current SAARC chair Nepal that increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in the internal affairs of member states by one country have created an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the 19th SAARC summit in Islamabad in November 2016," the document said.

India's foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Tuesday night took to twitter saying New Dehi has pulled out of SAARC summit.

"Regional cooperation and terror don't go together. India pulls out of SAARC summit in Islamabad," Swarup said.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated due to the ongoing civilian protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir and a deadly attack last week on an Indian army base in frontier Uri town, about 109 km northwest of Srinagar.

New Delhi blames Islamabad for fanning Kashmir protests and accuses it of sending armed militants into Indian-controlled Kashmir.

However, the charges were angrily dismissed by Pakistan. Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria has said recently that India leveled allegations without investigations.

"It is now the habit of India to shift the blame of every terrorist incident towards Pakistan without any investigation," he said. Endit