Saarc Summit Virtually Off as PM Says He won't Go To Pak

Saarc summit virtually off as PM says he won't go to Pak

Ramping up its offensive against Pakistan after the terror attack at Uri, India said that PM Narendra Modi would not travel to Islamabad for the Saarc summit.

Cross-border terrorism and interference in the internal affairs of member-states had forced India to rule out participating in the summit, an official statement said. This means the summit is virtually off as Saarc functions according to consensus.

The decision came hours after Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit told fore ign secretary S Jaishankar that his government believed the Uri attack was “stage-managed“ by India. MEA said in a release that it had conveyed that “one country“ is responsible for creating conditions that militate against the successful holding of the 19th Saarc Summit.

While communicating its decision to Saarc chair Nepal, India noted “We also understand that some other Saarc member-states have also conveyed their reservation about attending the Islamabad summit in November 2016“ -a reference to Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Following Modi's speech at Kozhikode in which he promised to act to isolate Pakistan, the government has taken some quick decisions. It has decided to examine fuller utilisation of Indus waters flowing into Pakistan and also look for options to take Pakistan to the WTO dispute resolution body for not reciprocating Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.

India's move to pull the rug from under the Saarc summit is a challenge for Pakistan that was set to host the event and came hours after foreign secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan envoy Abdul Basit and revealed to him that one of the slain terrorists in the Uri attack, and two others who helped the terrorists cross the LoC, were all from Muzaffarabad in PoK.

The guides were identified as Faisal Hussain Awan (20) and Yasin Khursheed (19).Faisal also revealed to NIA names of two handlers of the Uri operation ­ Mohammed Kabir Awan and Basharat.“India remains steadfast in its commitment to regional cooperation, connectivity and contacts but believes that these can only go forward in an atmosphere free of terror,“ said the foreign ministry.

Top sources said Bangadesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan too had refused to attend the event in Islamabad. Afghanistan and Bangladesh had earlier publicly said that they were not keen on participating in Saarc, mainly because of Pakistan's association with terror.

The announcement ends speculation whether Modi would travel to Islamabad.With the government feeling the pressure to act against Pakistan, Modi's decision is intended to show action on the ground. The support from Afghanistan and Bangladesh is said to have played a key role in facilitating India's decision to call off its participation. As expected, Jaishankar refused to entertain any talk about probe by a third agency during his meeting with Basit and sought to ensure a probe into evidence like fingerprints and DNA samples of terrorists which India was willing to provide.

Jaishankar told Basit that one of the slain 4 terrorists had been identified as Hafiz Ahmed (So Feroz, resident of village Dharbang in Muzaffarabad). Indian authorities got this information from two individuals, both residents of Muzaffarabad, who acted as guides for the terrorists, facilitating their infiltration, and were nabbed by villagers in the Uri sector on September 21.

In another incident on 23 September 2016, Jaishankar said, a Pakistani national, Abdul Qayoom (resident of Sialkot), was apprehended in Molu sector opposite Pakistan's Sialkot sector. Qayoom has confessed to undergoing three weeks of Lashkar training. Jaishankar told Basit that India was willing to give Pakistan high commission consular access to all the three individuals.

(TOI)