Pakistan says will go ahead with SAARC summit despite boycott by India, 3 other nations

Unfazed by India and three other SAARC member nations deciding not to participate in the grouping’s summit, Pakistan on Wednesday said it will go ahead and host the event in November. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup, however, said that according to SAARC rule, if any one head of state or govt pulls out from SAARC Summit, it has to be postponed.

Under the SAARC charter, the summit is automatically postponed or cancelled even if one member country skips the event.

Vikas Swarup’s latest statements:

#SAARC Summit will be postponed since 4 nations have decided to not attend SAARC Summit in Islamabad, there's no other way

#SAARC rule position is very clear, any one head of state or Govt decides not to participate in SAARC Summit, it has to be postponed

#However, a formal announcement can only be made by Nepal after they have done their internal consultation

#Unfortunate that Pakistan continues to pursue the path that has led to this current decision: Vikas Swarup

#Our commitment to SAARC, to regional connectivity, to regional contact and prosperity remains intact

#But we cannot conceive of SAARC summit happening when cross border terrorism and cross interference in our internal affairs continues-Swarup

#Now 3 countries also joined India in conveying same message, it’s time for Pak to introspect kind of relationship it wants with SAARC

ALSO READ: SAARC summit in Pakistan cancelled after boycott by India, 3 other nations, say reports

Pakistan’s reaction:

Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said Pakistan will host the 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in November, Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday.

Zakaria was quoted as saying that it was learnt from the Indian External Affairs Ministry’s tweet that India is not going to participate in the SAARC Summit, a decision he called “unfortunate”.

“While we have not received any official communication in this regard, the Indian announcement is unfortunate,” he said.

The spokesperson also said Pakistan is committed to regional peace and will continue working for the broader interest of the people of the region, according to the report.

Pakistan calls it India’s propaganda:

Separately, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said India is making propaganda to foil the conference that was scheduled to be held in November, according to Pakistan Today newspaper.

Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan boycott Islamabad SAARC summit

Soon after India said no to 19th SAARC summit to be held in Islamabad, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also pulled out of Summit in November, saying the environment is not right for the successful holding of the meet. The decision was conveyed by Bangladesh and Bhutan Tuesday to the SAARC Chair Nepal and by Afghanistan on Wednesday.

What happened on Tuesday?

On Tuesday, MEA had announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not participate in the upcoming SAARC Summit in Islamabad in view of the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of Uri attacks, in which 18 jawans were martyred.

Pakistan had said that they have not received and official communication in this regard and they got to know about the development through MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup's tweet. Pakistan had called India's decision to not to participate the SAARC summit is unfortunate.

Below is the official statement from Nepal, confirming the communication from SAARC Secretariat on India and three other countries' decision to not to participate on the summit: