India has chosen SAARC summit 2016 as a dais to build up the diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.After India three other SAARC members namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan have also pulled out of the meet, isolating host Pakistan.
What is SAARC ?
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was formed in the year 1985 with India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. 19th SAARC 2016 is scheduled to be held in November 2016 in Islamabad headed by Nepal this time.
The SAARC nations one by one are following the footsteps of India in boycotting the summit. This is definitely a pressure building step for Pakistan as SAARC has a lot of priorities over all these years.
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Bangladesh has expressed its inability to attend to current SAARC chair Nepal, saying, “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.”
On the other side, Bhutan has expressed that the present atmosphere is not suitable for it to attend the summit. Hence it is also withdrawing the presence this time.
Bhutan officially communicated that “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.” They also re-affirmed their commitment to regional cooperation.
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After the Uri attack, India has made its stand clear, and the Indian Prime Minister himself stated that this time the culprits wouldn’t be allowed without punishment. As a result, yesterday Indian external affairs ministry has called upon Pakistan’s external ministry officials in India and submitted the firm shreds of evidence of its involvement in the terrorist attack.
India already announced that because of Pakistan’s intrusion in Internal Affairs and terrorist activities, SAARC summit 2016 would not be attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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As per the latest rules framed, if any country is not willing to participate in the summit, then it has to be postponed to a later date. On the other hand, Pakistan has stated that there is no official communication regarding the skipping of the summit by any nation.
