Postponement of SAARC Summit in Islamabad should come as no surprise, says BJP

With media reports emerging that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit scheduled to take place in Islamabad in November has been postponed, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said that it should come as no surprise because most of the countries in the region are not happy with what Pakistan does in terms of interference and internal matters.

"Cooperation and terrorism cannot walk hand in hand. Pakistan is following this policy whereby it is constantly perpetrating terror and encouraging terror against India and in their interest, our citizens and soldiers die. And this is not only restricted to India. There are other countries as well which are not happy with what Pakistan does in terms of interference and internal matters," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli told ANI.

"So, in this entire context, if such news is coming that the SAARC Summit is not going to be held or is being postponed or cancelled, then it should come as no surprise," he added.

Pakistani media have reported that the scheduled meet has been postponed after India and three other countries announced their decision to pull out of the 19th SAARC Summit.

As per the SAARC charter, a formal announcement about the fate of the summit will be made by Nepal, which is the co-chair of the summit.

"The government of Nepal has received communications from the SAARC Secretariat transmitting the diplomatic notes from four SAARC member states namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and India in which they have conveyed their inability to participate in the 19th SAARC summit scheduled for November 9 and 10, 2016 in Islamabad stating that current regional environment is not conducive to the successful holding of the Summit. We have taken this development seriously," said a statement issued by the Nepal Foreign Ministry.

"As the current chair of SAARC, the government of Nepal strongly urges that a conducive environment be created for the 19th SAARC Summit soon by ensuring the participation of all member states in line with the spirit of the SAARC Charter," it added.

India on Tuesday announced that it was pulling out of the summit after the Uri terror attack of September 18 that claimed the lives of 18 soldiers.

Subsequently, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also pulled out of the summit citing their own reasons.