In an atmosphere full of tension and drama, India and Pakistan boycotted each other’s statements at the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) meet.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that he would not attend the speech by India’s External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar and would also not be a part of SAARC ministers lunch.
Following the suit Jaishankar made his statement and left the meeting, minutes before the Pakistani Foreign Minister’s arrival, ensuring that the two leaders are not present in the room together at any point.
The Pakistan foreign minister said that he could not sit and talk with the killers of Kashmiris. Interestingly, the SAARC charter does not allow bilateral issues to take center-stage. This fact was highlighted by Pakistan Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Mohammad Faisal minutes before the incidents of boycott.
PM’s To Clash Off
The incidence has heated up the environment for the upcoming speeches from the PM of the two nations at the UN (United Nations). This would be the first time since swearing-in of Imran Khan as PM last year that he would face the Indian PM on the UN’s platform.
While the agenda of Pakistani PM’s speech would be Kashmir the Indian PM is expected to avoid any references of the same. PM Modi is expected to elaborate on his government’s effort on various fronts and India’s role as a part of the global community during his speech.
