New Delhi: India on Thursday turned down Pakistan’s fresh proposal to host the long-pending summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), stating there is no consensus that will allow the holding of the meeting.
India has rejected Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s proposal for the summit to be held 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, according to the news agency PTI.
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Clarifying India’s stance, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “There is still no consensus that would permit the holding of the summit.”
On Monday, Qureshi had reiterated Pakistan’s offer to host the summit in 2022, saying India could attend the meet virtually in case it does not wish to participate in-person.
“We have seen media reports regarding the Pakistan foreign minister’s remarks about the Saarc Summit. You are aware of the background as to why the Saarc Summit has not been held since 2014,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
The 19th SAARC summit was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November 2016. But India withdrew after a terrorist attack on an Army camp in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. Subsequently, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the Maldives and Bhutan also refused to attend the summit that led to indefinite postponement.
While responding to the Kremlin-floated proposal for a possible Russia-India-China in-person summit, the spokesperson said the three Foreign Ministers had held a virtual meeting on November 26. “Beyond that, there is nothing to add,” he added.