The 2016 SAARC Summit was originally planned to be held in Islamabad on November 15-19, 2016. But after a terror attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to "prevailing circumstances". The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.
'India is using Hasina to warn the Yunus government because there is a ground support for the Awami League in Bangladesh.'
India, along with some other members, objected to the proposal and due to lack of consensus or concurrence, the meet has been cancelled.
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In his opening address, Prime Minister Modi said the South Asian region has reported less than 150 coronavirus cases, but "we need to remain vigilant". "Prepare, but don't panic" has been India's guiding mantra in dealing with coronavirus outbreak, he said.
Pakistan will not engage with India 'until and unless they lift the siege' in Kashmir, it said.
Modi said the coming together of SAARC leaders will lead to effective outcomes and benefit citizens in the fight against coronavirus. The PM on Friday had proposed formulation of a joint strategy by the SAARC nations to fight coronavirus, a suggestion that was backed by all the member states.
Even a whiff of an incident like the violent 1989 shirt-ripping attack on Krishnamachari Srikkanth by a Karachi spectator would be ruinous. It would set back the ties further, derail an ongoing tournament, and harden Indian attitudes on playing Pakistan anywhere at all, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said the 'era of uninterrupted dialogue' with Pakistan is over even as he noted that India is 'not passive' and whether events take a positive or negative direction, either way New Delhi will react.
Jaishankar was among the first ministers to arrive for the SAARC ministerial meeting. He was in the meeting for over 45 minutes and then left.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation has "survived" but not "triumphed" as had been envisaged, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said while lamenting the postponement of the eight-member grouping's Islamabad summit.
Connectivity is what SAARC needs the most but Pakistan is not interested, says Rajeev Sharma.
He said the SAARC leadership can discuss via video conferencing ways to keep their citizens healthy.
"Sri Lanka regrets that the prevailing environment in the region is not conducive for holding the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
India will provide immediate medical visa for patient and an attendant coming for treatment as well as business visa for 3-5 years for SAARC nations.
India on Thursday pitched for unleashing the "collective strength" of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj underlined the need for a South Asian Economic Union with greater connectivity and forward movement on pending agreements on rail and motor vehicles.
The development comes after four of the eight member states -- India, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh -- decided to pull out.
'We have communicated that SAPM (Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister) on Health (Zafar Mirza) will be available to participate in the video conference of SAARC member countries on the issue,' Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said in a tweet on Friday.
'We operate in 16 countries already, and therefore adding the UK to it, and beginning a chapter in the European continent is the next step.'
The highlights of the Declaration adopted at the 14th SAARC Summit.
Extending its support to Saarc Bank, Sri Lanka on Thursday said the proposed financial institution will help in alleviating poverty in the South Asian region.
The existing SAARC Development Fund could be merged into the bank.
Apart from India, Bangladesh and Bhutan have also pulled out of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November, saying the environment is not right for the successful holding of the meet.
It alleged that the decision by India to 'derail the summit' effectively 'contradicts' Prime Minister Narendra Modi's own call to fight against poverty in the region.
Irrespective of SAARC's banal performance audit, it would be at South Asia's peril to accept the idea that SAARC as a framework has little to offer, especially to its poorer members, writes Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
A multi-layer security arrangement involving five companies of paramilitary personnel, NSG commandoes and snipers have already been deployed around the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Drone cameras have also been put into service.
The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit
During the visit, apart from attending the SAARC meet, Singh is likely to have bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other SAARC member-countries, including Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to hold talks with the Afghan leadership
Since Pakistan has 'opted out' of the project, it is now being called South Asian satellite.
Asserting a war was not an option between India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka on Wednesday said cross-border terrorism was a core issue on the table for SAARC and the members of eight-nation grouping have to discuss it and its impact before moving forward.
'Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism.'
After the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the eight-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation could soon have an anthem after an Indian diplomat in Kathmandu penned a song for the grouping to foster deeper regional consciousness.
Nepal said it 'has received communications' from four member-states -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and India -- in which they conveyed their inability to participate in the 19th SAARC summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to the national capital on Thursday after a successful three-day visit to Nepal capital Kathmandu, where he attended the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit.
The SAARC nations have been more pragmatic than their peers in the ASEAN and EU, indicated an official source on the eve of the 17th SAARC Summit to be held in Male on November 10-11, even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for Maldives for the SAARC Summit on Wednesday.
Modi is likely to hold separate bilateral meetings with the foreign leaders.
The meeting was attended by all the cabinet secretaries from the SAARC member states. It was noted that SAARC is transforming into an 'implementation body' and the need to strengthen administrative and delivery mechanisms was emphasized. The cabinet secretaries deliberated upon areas where significant innovations have been tried in various member states to benefit their citizens.
Government sources in New Delhi said the neighbouring country's attempt to 'politicise' a humanitarian issue by its 'unwarranted' statement on Kashmir during the video-conference reflected 'very poorly' on it.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth are set to be invited to Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
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