Nepal to take initiative finalizing fresh date for holding SAARC Summit

With the postponement of the 19th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) scheduled for November in Pakistan, Nepal, the chair of the eight-nation regional body, said Saturday that it will take initiative to finalize the new date for the summit.

"The SAARC Summit should be held soon by ensuring the participation of all member-states and they need to be serious for the same. As a chair, Nepal will consult with all the SAARC fellow member states soon to finalize a fresh date for holding the summit," Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat told reporters in Kathmandu.

However, Mahat said that Pakistan should make a conducive environment to hold the summit as a host of the event.

Nepal's response has come a day after Pakistan announced postponement of the summit following SAARC member-states Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India decided boycotting the regional summit amid mounting tensions between India and Pakistan. The summit which was slated for November 9 and 10 in the Pakistani Capital Islamabad.

"According to the SAARC Charter, the summit cannot be held even if only one member refuses to participate in. As a chair of the regional block Nepal urges all member-states to make a conducive environment for holding the summit," he said.

Stating that the SAARC is a very important regional forum to enhance cooperation and development, Foreign Minister Mahat stressed on cordial relations among its member states.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that a new set of dates for the summit in Islamabad will be declared soon through the SAARC current chair Nepal.

Pakistan also deplored India's decision to impede the SAARC process by not attending the 19th SAARC Summit.

Tensions between Pakistan and India escalated after an attack on Sept. 18 against an Indian army camp in Uri in India controlled Kashmir.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Indian blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad group for the attack which killed 19 Indian soldiers. Islamabad denies the Indian accusation.

On Thursday, India fired at Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region, leaving two Pakistani soldiers killed and nine others injured, Pakistani Defense Minister Khwaja Asif had said.

SAARC is a regional block founded in 1985 in South Asia comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Sourc : XINHUA