India Says Not Possible To Go Ahead With SAARC Under Present Conditions

India said today it was difficult to proceed with SAARC citing Pakistan's support to terrorism.

PTI @PTI_News

07 Apr 2018, 09:29 PM IST

Flags of the SAARC countries on display at the 14th summit in 2007 (Photographer: Pankaj Nangia/Bloomberg News)

India said today it was difficult to proceed with the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiative under current circumstances, citing support to cross-border terrorism by Pakistan.

The issue of organising the SAARC Summit came up for discussion during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli, who is in India on a three-day visit.

The prime minister (Modi) mentioned that he very enthusiastically participated in the Kathmandu (SAARC) summit, but given the current state of play where there is cross-border terrorism - and this is a disruptive force in the region. It is difficult in such circumstances to proceed with such initiatives

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale

SAARC Summits are usually held biennially hosted by a member state in alphabetical order. The member state hosting the summit assumes the Chair of the Association. The last SAARC Summit in 2014 was held in Kathmandu, which was attended by Modi. The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad.