Jaitley may skip Saarc meet in Pakistan

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is unlikely to attend a meeting of finance ministers from the eight South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) nations, to be held in Pakistan later this month, mainly due to political reasons.

The two-day conference of Saarc Finance Ministers is scheduled on August 25-26 in Islamabad. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das might attend the conference, instead. A senior government official said a final decision on Jaitley's attendance was yet to be taken, but added: "You know the situation, what is happening politically and what happened during the home minister's meeting."

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had visited Islamabad earlier this month for the seventh Saarc Home Ministers Meeting.

It was a very uneasy meeting as barbs were exchanged between Singh and Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who gave a tense handshake during the Saarc meeting.

Additionally, Pakistani authorities did not allow Indian journalists, including those from the national broadcaster Doordarshan, into the venue in Islamabad.

Singh later told the Rajya Sabha that after the meeting, Pakistan's Home Minister invited the participants for lunch but left in a car soon thereafter. "Keeping in mind the country's prestige, I did what I should have done. I have no complaints. I had not gone there for lunch," Singh said, referring to him skipping the lunch.

That apart, in his Independence Day address to the nation on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that India would not bow before terrorism. He also talked about atrocities by Pakistan on the people of Baluchistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, saying that they have thanked India for support.

Though Modi did not make any reference to the incidents at Kashmir Valley, which has been seeing violence after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, he accused Pakistan of glorifying terrorists and celebrating killings in India.

Pakistan's finance ministry had in a recent statement said the country would play the role of a "good host" at the Saarc summit and try to keep the overall ambience positive.