Isolation complete, Pakistan forced to put off Saarc meet

NEW DELHI: The Saarc summit scheduled for November in Islamabad was formally called off, with Pakistan blaming India for derailing the meeting but failing to mention that Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan — joined by Sri Lanka on Friday — had pulled out citing concerns over terrorism.
Pakistan announced the postponement of the summit with its isolation in the region near complete after Sri Lanka called for decisive action against terrorism in all forms and declared that it would not be present at the summit.
Pakistan’s embarrassment over the Saarc summit is a boost for India’s diplomatic efforts to corner Islamabad over the terror attack at Uri and comes a day after Islamabad suffered humiliating Indian cross-border raids on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Particularly galling for Pakistan is the echo of India’s accusations about its role in fostering terrorism in the statements issued by the four Saarc nations. The absence of any equivalence between India and Pakistan and the charge that Pakistan is “interfering” in the affairs of other states is a bitter pill.
Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Pakistan was forced to recognise that regional sentiment was against terrorism.
The Sri Lankan decision is seen as significant as till not too long ago, it was seen to be firmly in the Chinese orbit under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa till he lost the election in 2015. With Pakistan’s “all weather” friend losing its clout in Sri Lanka as well as Nepal, Pakistan’s exclusion seems to have become more evident.
As Saarc chair, Nepal did not join the boycott move, but had earlier in the day called for Pakistan to take necessary steps to host the summit on time, saying indefinite postponement would not be in the interest of any country.
“It is clear that the summit cannot take place even if one member notifies of its inability to attend the event,” its statement said.
After India announced that it would not attend the summit, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan too pulled out. Apart from the Saarc nations, Russia, while calling for India and Pakistan to not escalate tensions, asked Pakistan to take effective steps against terrorist activities on its territory, a position that the US has also reiterated.
Pakistan, however, said it would soon announce a new set of dates for the summit. Putting up a brave front, it deplored India’s decision to “impede’’ the Saarc process.
But revealingly, Pakistan’s statement made no mention that apart from India, four other Saarc nations had decided to boycott the summit. Pakistan’s announcement seems intended to get out of an embarrassing situation after India’s cross-LoC surgical strikes inflicted heavy casualties on terrorists and also killed two Pakistan army soldiers.