Saarc summit postponed amid mass pull out

Pakistan today officially announced the postponement of 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit amid pull out of five nations including Bangladesh and India.

"Pakistan deplores India's decision to impede the Saarc process by not attending the 19th Saarc Summit in Islamabad on November 9 and 10," its foreign office said in a statement, according to the Dawn newspaper of Pakistan.

As per the rule, Nepal, the current Chair of Saarc is due to make the announcement of postponement or cancellation, but the government of Nepal in a press statement on September 28 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.

The Pakistan foreign ministry said all preparations were made to hold the summit but had to be called off after impediments by Indian government, which contradicts the PM Narendra Modi's call to fight poverty in the region.

"India's decision to abstain from the Summit on the basis of unfounded assumptions on the Uri incident is a futile effort to divert attention of the world from the atrocities perpetrated by India in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir," the statement added.

A new set of dates for holding of summit in Islamabad will be announced soon, through the chair of Saarc (Nepal), said the Foreign Office.