The Saarc summit scheduled for November in Islamabad formally folded up 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. 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 .
After India announced that it would not attend the summit, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan too pulled out.
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 and accused New Delhi of contradicting PM Narendra Modi's own call to fight against poverty in the region.
It said the spirit of the Saarc charter was violated when a member state cast the shadow of its bilateral problems on the multilateral forum for regional cooperation.
Choosing to overlook its near isolation in the region with even Sri Lanka skipping the summit, Islamabad said it attached great importance to regional cooperation under the umbrella of Saarc.
The Saarc charter makes it mandatory for all member states to participate in a summit. The absence of just one member is enough to postpone, or even cancel the summit.
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. 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 .
After India announced that it would not attend the summit, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan too pulled out.
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 and accused New Delhi of contradicting PM Narendra Modi's own call to fight against poverty in the region.
It said the spirit of the Saarc charter was violated when a member state cast the shadow of its bilateral problems on the multilateral forum for regional cooperation.
Choosing to overlook its near isolation in the region with even Sri Lanka skipping the summit, Islamabad said it attached great importance to regional cooperation under the umbrella of Saarc.
The Saarc charter makes it mandatory for all member states to participate in a summit. The absence of just one member is enough to postpone, or even cancel the summit.
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