Sushma not to attend Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday confirmed that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will not attend the Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar on December 3 and 4.

MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup disclosed the information in this regard.

He, however, did not confirm the possibility of bilateral talks with Pakistan while stating that talks and terror can't go together.

"It is incumbent on Pakistan to create the necessary environment for a conducive bilateral dialogue to happen," said Swarup.

Amid rising tensions along the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will be attending the Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar.

The conference to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will witness the participation of over 40 countries.

The thrust of the meet is to discuss the future of Afghanistan in which both India and Pakistan are invested.

Aziz would be the first senior Pakistani official to visit India since the September 10 Uri attack, blamed on Pakistan-based militants, which led India to pull out of the SAARC Summit in Pakistan in November.