India turns down Pak proposal for SAARC summit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 6

India has rejected Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's proposal for a SAARC summit in Islamabad on grounds that ``there has been no material change in the situation’’ since the 18th gathering of eight South Asian leaders in Kathmandu in 2014.

``Therefore there is still no consensus that would permit the holding of the summit,’’ said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi when asked to respond to Qureshi’s observations at a press conference.

The 19th SAARC summit was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November 2016. But India announced its boycott after a terrorist attack on an army camp in Uri, Jammu & Kashmir. Subsequently, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the Maldives and Bhutan also declined to attend the summit leading to its indefinite postponement. Qureshi had suggested that the SAARC summit be held in Islamabad and India can attend it virtually if its leaders were averse to coming to Pakistan.

Asked to confirm the possibility of holding the Republic Day parade with Presidents of five Central Asian nations in view of rising Omicron cases, Bagchi indicated that an announcement any which way will take closer to the date. The Vibrant Gujarat summit, which was to be attended by the Prime Ministers of Nepal and Russia, has already been postponed.

On the Kremlin-floated proposal for possible Russia-India-China in-person summit, the spokesperson noted that the three Foreign Ministers had held a virtual meeting on November 26. ``Beyond that, there is nothing further to add,’’ he said.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.