India rejects Pakistan's plea for hosting Saarc Summit
New Delhi, Sep 20 : Asserting that terror and talks cannot go together, India on Thursday rejected new Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's proposal for holding a Saarc Summit in Islamabad. India, however, accepted Islamabad's request for a meeting of the foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session later this month.
Responding to a question during a media briefing here, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India's stand the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) "has been very clear and consistent".
"Time and again we have said that the atmosphere in the region is not conducive for this Summit," Kumar said.
"This is not only India which has felt in this manner," he stated.
"There are a number of other countries in the region that have accordingly felt that under the shadow of terrorism and cross-border terrorism, it is difficult to hold the Saarc Summit which is to be hosted by Pakistan."
Earlier, in his briefing, Kumar announced that Sushma Swaraj and Qureshi will meet at the UN, the first foreign minister-level meeting between the two South Asian nuclear neighbours in nearly three years.
India will also participate in an informal meeting of Saarc foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UNGA session.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that was received on September 17, Imran Khan sought to hold the 20th Saarc Summit in Islamabad.
"The Summit will offer an opportunity for you to visit Pakistan and for us to re-start the stalled dialogue process," he wrote.
Following a cross-border terror attack from Pakistan at an army base in Jammu and Kashmir in September 2016 that killed 17 Indian soldiers, the Saarc Summit that was to be held in Islamabad later that year had to be cancelled as other member states of the bloc joined India in boycotting it.
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Put petty politics aside; it's not about one party, but India: Rahul on TMC's loss in polls
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the BJP's victory in Bengal and Assam assembly polls a "theft" of the mandate, and a big step forward in the saffron party's mission to "destroy" Indian democracy.
Gandhi also came out in support of the TMC, which has been trounced by the BJP in the polls, and urged those gloating over the loss of Mamata Banerjee's party to put petty politics aside.
"Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC's loss.They need to understand this clearly - the theft of Assam and Bengal's mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy," Gandhi said in a post on X.
"Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or another. This is about India," he said in his post.
The BJP ousted Trinamool Congress from power in Bengal and captured power for the third time in a row in Assam in results of assembly polls declared on Monday.
