According to an exclusive report by First Post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Pakistan in November for the Saarc Summit.
It has been confirmed to Firstpost by an authoritative source that the decision to stay away from visiting Pakistan has already been taken. An announcement on sending a ministerial representative instead will be made closer to the date. The decision against Modi’s attendance was taken weeks before Sunday’s Uri attack by Pakistani terrorists. Post-Uri attack, however, there is no way that Modi could be persuaded to travel to Islamabad.
Previously it was Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who had indicated their intentions not to attend the Saarc meeting in Islamabad. In recent weeks, Bangladesh did not attend the Saarc home ministers’ conference in Pakistan and after home minister Rajnath Singh got a cold welcome, finance minister Arun Jaitley excused himself from the meeting of finance ministers.
India has also decided to aggressively publicise Pakistan’s role in spreading terror in the South Asian region. Modi’s specific reference to Pakistan spreading terror at G-20 summit in China, and Rajnath’s demand to have Pakistan labelled a terror state are in line with India’s strategy to turn the heat on Islamabad.
Sourced from agencies, Featued image courtesy: www.livemint.com
