Pakistan to invite PM Modi for SAARC summit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be invited for the 20th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit which is to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) announced on Tuesday. The dates of the summit are yet to be finalised.

Pakistan FO spokesman Mohammad Faisal, while addressing the Kashmir Conference here, recalled that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in his first address had said that if India took one step forward, Pakistan would take two, reported Dawn. "We fought a war with India. Relations cannot be fixed quickly," Faisal asserted.

Talking about Kartarpur Corridor, Faisal termed the event of "groundbreaking" as "a great success" for the country. He said that Pakistan has invited Indian media to cover the inauguration ceremony as "we have nothing to hide."

"In this century, diplomacy has completely changed. Now policies are made based on citizens' emotions and wishes," he said.

It is worth mentioning that India boycotted the 19th SAARC Summit which was scheduled to take place in November 2016 in Islamabad, following the September 18 terror attack on the military base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir.

The summit was finally cancelled as several countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also walked out following India's decision to exit the summit to step up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.