India pulls out of Saarc summit

However, it is not the first time India has decided to skip the meeting of the eightnation grouping, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, formed in 1985. The summit cannot be held if even one member pulls out.

In a demarche, foreign secretary S Jaishankar gave Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit the names and addresses of two “guides” from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir who helped four militants cross over and attack the Uri camp.

The envoy, who was called in for the second time since the attack, was told that local villagers in Uri caught and handed over the two “guides” -- Faizal Hussain Awan, 20, and Yasin Khursheed, 19 – who had admitted to facilitating the crossing over of the attackers from Pakistan.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a meeting of his foreign and commerce ministry officials to review the most-favoured nation (MFN) status it gave Pakistan in 1996. The meeting, to be held on Thursday, is part of retributive measures India is said to be considering to avenge the Uri attack, including reviewing a water-sharing treaty and scaling down aviation cooperation.

New Delhi has blamed the Uri attack on Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group, which is based in Muzaffarabad, a known sanctuary for militant groups operating against India.

Pakistan promptly rejected the proof, with Basit calling for an independent investigation into the attack which he termed as a “handiwork of Indian forces”. Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif also described the Uri attack as “self-generated” by India.

Modi has already held a meeting to review the 56-yearold, World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty that governs rivers flowing into Pakistan.

The MFN status is granted by a trading partner to another country for equal treatment in terms of trading prices or tariffs, and market access without discrimination in imports and exports.

Reacting to India’s decision on the Saarc meet, Pakistan’s Foreign Office described it as “unfortunate” and said it had not yet received any official communication from New Delhi. A brief statement issued by the Foreign Office referred to the reasons behind India’s decision as an “excuse” and alleged New Delhi was “perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan”. It added, “It is India which has violated the international law and UN Charter by interfering in the internal matters of... Pakistan.”