Off the wire
• U.S. Navy awards first LRIP contract for Triton UAS program  • Zambia's opposition lawmakers boycott official opening of parliament  • LME base metals mostly increase on Friday  • JSE retreats on Friday with losses across board  • Americans' desire for major third party surges: poll  • Tibet dams river for its costliest hydro project  • Construction of Trans Adriatic Pipeline kicks off in Albania  • Israel pays Turkey 20 mln USD compensation over flotilla raid in 2010  • 1st Ld Writethru: Premier calls for further reform  • Berdych, Gasquet into semis, Tomic out in Shenzhen Open  
You are here: 　 Home

Pakistan postpones regional summit after India's boycott: Foreign Ministry

Xinhua, October 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Pakistan postponed a regional summit scheduled to be held here in November after India's boycott of the event over rising tensions between the two bitter neighbors, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The tension between the two neighboring countries came after a recent attack in India controlled Kashmir,

The summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC, cannot be held even if only one member refuses to attend.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a new set of dates for the summit at Islamabad will be announced soon through Nepal, chair of the eight-nation group of SAARC which also groups the Maldives.

"Accordingly, we have conveyed the same to the Prime Minister of Nepal, the current Chair of SAARC," the statement said, adding that "Pakistan deplores India's decision to impede the SAARC process by not attending the 19th SAARC Summit."

The ministry said Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was looking forward to welcome the SAARC leaders for their participation in the event and that all preparations had been made for successful holding of the summit in a befitting manner.

Tensions between Pakistan and India escalated after an attack on Sept. 18 against an Indian army camp in Uri in India controlled Kashmir. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Indian blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad group for the attack which killed 19 Indian soldiers. Islamabad denies the Indian accusation.

On Thursday, India fired at Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region, leaving two Pakistani soldiers killed and nine others injured, Pakistani Defense Minister Khwaja Asif said. While, eight Indian troops were killed in the skirmish and one has been captured, according to local reports.

"The spirit of the SAARC Charter is violated when a member state casts the shadow of its bilateral problems on the multilateral forum for regional cooperation," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.

Pakistan recalled that the decision by India to derail the summit effectively contradicts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's own call to fight against poverty in the region.

"India's decision to abstain from the Summit on the basis of unfounded assumptions on the Uri incident is a futile effort to divert attention of the world from the atrocities perpetrated by India in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir," the statement added.

Pakistan attaches great importance to regional cooperation under the umbrella of SAARC and is committed to the SAARC objectives for promoting welfare of the people of South Asia, improving their quality of life, accelerating of economic growth, social progress and cultural development, according to the ministry here.

"Therefore, Pakistan remains committed to hosting the 19th SAARC Summit at Islamabad at the earliest so that the objectives of regional cooperation under the SAARC umbrella can be pursued more vigorously," the statement concluded. Endit