After Saarc, India snubs Pakistan again

New Delhi: India, along with Bangladesh and Iran, has pulled out of a key regional conference on sustainable development which is being held in Pakistan, according to a media report.

The three-day session of the Governing Council of the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) started in Islamabad on Monday .

The objective of the conference is to promote innovation for sustainable development and discus strategy of the APCTT. The Express Tribune reported that officials of the ministry of science and technology initially confirmed New Delhi’s participation in the conference but later announced India’s decision to pull out. “Just hours before the meeting was due to start, the Indian delegation cancelled their trip saying that their head delegate had contracted food poisoning,” the official said. India had earlier in November boycotted the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) summit that was to be held in Islamabad.

It is believed that New Delhi’s decision is part of its efforts to isolate Pakistan internationally by staying away from such multilateral engagements hosted by Islamabad, media reports said shared. However, government officials in New Delhi said not much should be read into india’s absence and that the Indian delegation couldn’t attend probably because of scheduling issues. The ministry of science and technology is hosting the meeting of the 12th Governing Council of APCTT.