The upcoming SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad has been postponed after India and three other countries pulled out of the regional meet, Pakistan’s Dawn News reported.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced he would not attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Spokesman of India's External Affairs Ministry, Vikas Swaroop said India can't be mindful of "one country exporting cross-border terrorism".
In a statement, India blamed "increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region" for creating "an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the 19th SAARC Summit."
The move is seen as a direct fallout of the September 18 Uri attack in the Indian Kashmir in which 19 soldiers of the Indian Army were killed. India blamed Pakistan for the attack. Pakistan vehemently denied India’s allegations.
Three other countries, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan also pulled out of the meet citing “violence” and “terror”.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said India was impeding the Saarc process to divert attention from its atrocities in Kashmir
“Indian intentions of creating hurdles yet again is visible from the actions and statements at the political level during the last two months coupled with coordinated media efforts,” the Foreign office said in a statement.
“Indian atrocities have attracted the world’s attention, which is manifested in the strong condemnations and calls by the international political and human rights organisations for sending a fact-finding mission to the Indian Occupied Kashmir,” it added.
The current chair of the eight-nation body Nepal said it hoped the issues would be resolved but could not comment on whether the summit would go ahead.
“The host will take decisions regarding the summit,” said Jhabindra Aryal, joint secretary of Nepal's foreign ministry.
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