The 19th Saarc summit in Islamabad is set to be postponed, as Bangladesh and India are not going to attend it citing growing interference in the internal affairs of member states as well as the recent terror attack in India.
The summit is slated for November 9-10.
Diplomatic sources said other member states, including Afghanistan and Bhutan, have also conveyed their reservations to Nepal, the Saarc current chair, about attending the summit.
Sri Lanka too has signalled that it would not be participating, the sources added.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan foreign office reacted to the India's decision, calling it “unfortunate”.
As par the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) charter, the summit cannot be held without all the leaders (heads of the state/government) of its member states.
Contacted, diplomatic sources in Dhaka, New Delhi and Kathmandu said that Nepal, as the Saarc chair, will soon make an announcement about the summit's postponement, and fresh dates will be worked out after consultation.
The move seems stepping up of India's diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan globally after the recent Uri terror attack blamed by New Delhi on Islamabad.
The attack left 18 Indian troops dead.
For Bangladesh, the reason is Pakistan's repeated interference in its internal affairs.
"We have formally communicated with the Nepal government and told it that we would not be able to attend the Saarc summit," a top official of the Bangladesh foreign ministry told The Daily Star yesterday.
Asked about the reason, the official said Dhaka in a formal letter has informed the Saarc chair that Islamabad made “uncalled for reactions after the execution of war criminals in Bangladesh that amount to direct interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, which is totally unacceptable.”
Diplomatic tensions between Bangladesh and Pakistan have long been escalating, with each government summoning the other's envoy to lodge strong protests over the execution of war criminals, mostly Jamaat leaders for their crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
Diplomatic sources said there was an early indication that uncertainty could loom over the summit following the recent escalation of diplomatic tension and developments in the South Asian region.
There were media reports that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to Pakistan to attend the summit.
Highly-placed sources said India was first to convey the message to Nepal.
In response to a query, the Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India yesterday said the country has informed the Saarc chair that increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in the internal affairs of member states by one country have created an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the summit.
India remains steadfast in its commitment to regional cooperation, connectivity and contacts but believes that these can only go forward in an atmosphere free of terror, according to a MEA statement.
It also said: “In the prevailing circumstances, the Government of India is unable to participate in the proposed summit in Islamabad. We also understand that some other Saarc member states have also conveyed their reservations about attending the Islamabad summit.”
Our New Delhi correspondent reports: Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit earlier yesterday and gave him “proof” that the terrorists who attacked the army base camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir came from Pakistan.
The Indian government said two men arrested with the help of villagers have said they belong to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and served as "guides" to help the four terrorists cross over the border.
One of the terrorists who were shot dead has been identified as a resident of Muzzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Jaishankar also told the Pakistani high commissioner that a third Pakistani arrested recently has revealed that he was trained by terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba for several weeks.
Pakistan has rejected the allegations of its involvement in the Uri strike.
In January, an air force base in Pathankot in Punjab state of India near border with Pakistan was attacked by Pakistani terrorists in which seven Indian military personnel were killed.
Pakistan had formally extended the invitation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the Saarc summit.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the member states of the organisation.
PAKISTAN TERMS INDIA'S DECISION 'UNFORTUNATE'
The Pakistan foreign office yesterday reacted to the India's decision about skipping the summit, calling it 'unfortunate'.
Mohammed Nafees Zakaria, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan, tweeted that India had not officially notified them about its decision yet.
He, however, said: “…it is India which has violated the international law and UN charter by interfering in the internal matters of a sovereign state, Pakistan.”