Sushma Swaraj to leave for UAE to attend OIC meet amid Pak threat to boycott

Amid a threat by Pakistan to boycott a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) if India attended, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is slated to leave for the UAE later today to participate in the conclave as the Guest of Honour.

Swaraj will address the plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers to be held in Abu Dhabi from March 1 to 2. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has threatened to boycott the OIC meeting if Swaraj participated.

Yesterday, Swaraj attended the 16th Foreign Ministers meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) at Wuzhen in China where she said that terrorists attacks like Pulwama are a grim reminder for the need of all countries to show 'zero tolerance' towards terrorism.

The OIC on Tuesday "condemned" the aerial strike carried out by India deep inside Pakistan, urging New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restraint to avoid further provocations that would "endanger peace and security in the region."

The Indian Air Force strike in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, destroyed a major terrorist training camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and eliminated a "large number" of terrorists, including top commanders.

JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama on February 14 in which 40 personnel were killed.

On Wednesday morning, India foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which a pilot was "missing in action".

Pakistan later acknowledged that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who ejected across the Line of Control, is in its custody.

The OIC called on both sides to resume bilateral dialogue towards de-escalation of the current situation "as a matter of priority".