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Pakistan Isolated: After India-led pull-out, Islamabad admits that SAARC will have to be postponed

Pakistan said although it is possible to postpone the summit but the SAARC Secretariat has not officially informed the government so far.

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Pakistan hinted that the next SAARC Summit in November could be postponed if India has refused to attend the regional gathering. "As per SAARC rules the Summit will not be held if any member-country refused to attend," Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said.

His statement came as it became evident that it was not possible to organise the summit after India and three other member-countries - Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh - informed the SAARC Chair, Nepal, their unwillingness to attend the summit that was scheduled for November 9-10. Aziz said it was not the first time that India was not attending the regional summit and that it had earlier also caused the summit to be postponed four times.

Aziz said although it is possible to postpone the summit but the SAARC Secretariat has not officially informed the government so far. Earlier, Pakistani media reported that the government has decided to postpone the summit.

Under the SAARC charter, the summit is automatically postponed or cancelled even if one member country skips the event. Tensions between India and Pakistan have increased after militants stormed an Indian Army base in Uri on September 18, killing 18 soldiers.

Besides India, three other SAARC members - Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan - have pulled out of the summit, indirectly blaming Pakistan for creating an environment which is not right for the successful holding of the meet.

The development a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided not to attend the SAARC Summit citing "the prevailing circumstances".

Founded in 1985, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) currently has Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as its members. 

 India said the SAARC Summit in Islamabad has to be postponed as it and three other countries have pulled out of the meet.
 

Earlier,  External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said a formal announcement to this effect will be made by Nepal, the current Chair of the SAARC.

The current rule is that if any one head of State or Government decides not to participate in the SAARC Summit, it has to be postponed. All eight Heads of SAARC countries must be present for the Summit, Swarup said, adding if any one country decides not to participate, the Summit has to be postponed.

"In the current case, not just India but Bangladesh Bhutan and Afghanistan have also written to current Chair of SAARC, Nepal that they are unable to participate in the SAARC Summit, which means there is no option but to postpone it," the Spokesperson said.

The countries have pulled out of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November, indirectly blaming Pakistan for creating an environment which is not right for the successful holding of the meet.

In the backdrop of the heightened tension with Pakistan over Uri terror attack in which 18 jawans were killed, India had announced late last night its decision to not participate in Summit, citing increased "cross-border" 

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