Nepal has strongly urged that a conducive environment be created soon to ensure the participation of all member states in the 19th SAARC summit in line with the spirit of the SAARC Charter.
Nepal’s reaction came after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan joined India in pulling out of the 19th SAARC summit that was to be hosted by Islamabad in November this year.
They have cited deteriorating regional security situation and interference by Pakistan in their internal affairs as reasons for pulling out.
Under the SAARC charter, the summit is automatically postponed or cancelled even if one member country skips the event. Uncertainty now hangs over the fate of the SAARC summit.
Pakistan stands isolated. After India said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Pakistan for the regional SAARC summit in November, three other members – Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan – have also decided to pull out of the meet.
Bangladesh has said, “The growing interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh by one country has created an environment which is not conducive to the successful hosting of the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November 2016.”
Bhutan too raised concern over “the recent escalation of terrorism in the region” in its communication to the SAARC chair.
The communique read, “the Royal Government of Bhutan shares the concerns of some of the member countries of SAARC on the deterioration of regional peace and security due to terrorism and joins them in conveying our inability to participate in the SAARC Summit, under the current circumstances.”
Afghanistan has cited similar reasons for pulling out of the summit, which cannot take place even if one country withdraws.
It said that “Due to increased level of violence and fighting as a result of imposed terrorism on Afghanistan, H.E. the President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani with his responsibilities as the Commander in Chief will be fully engaged, and will not be able to attend the Summit.”
Last night India announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November. Without naming Pakistan, India blamed it for creating an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the Summit. MEA said India has conveyed to current SAARC Chair Nepal that
increasing cross border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in the internal affairs of Member States by one country have created an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November 2016.
India also did not participate at the ministerial level at the saarc finance ministers meet.
Bangladesh too had not sent its Home Minister or Finance Minister to the Ministerial level meets.
India’s announcement came on a day Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar issued a second demarche to Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit over September 18 Uri attack and confronted him with proof of “cross-border origins” of the terror strike in which 18 jawans were killed.