Pak may attend regional meet on Afghan in India

In a calculated move to offset efforts by the Indian government to isolate the country following the Uri teror attack, Pakistan may attend a key regional conference on Afghanistan in India, media reported on Monday.

The Heart of Asia-Istanbul ministerial meeting is scheduled to take place in the first week of December at Amritsar in Punjab.

Pakistan’s participation was doubtful due to the ongoing tension and Indian boycott of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit scheduled to be held in Pakistan in November. Citing continuous cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, India had announced that “in the present circumstances” it was unable to participate in the SAARC summit in Islamabad.

The Express Tribune reported that officials familiar with the development said that Pakistan had no intention of following the footsteps of India by staying away from the Heart of Asia-Istanbul conference. 

“There is a growing sense among the stakeholders that Pakistan should attend the Heart of Asia-Istanbul conference,” said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.

The official pointed out that there was no point of boycotting the conference since it was about Afghanistan.