Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has termed India as a ‘barrier’ to the progress of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s (SAARC) and regional connectivity.
Qureshi was speaking to the media after attending a SAARC meeting on the sidelines of 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
While commenting on the behavior of his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj who left the meeting before hearing Pakistan’s statement, the foreign minister said the SAARC body has been unable to make significant progress due to India.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi Media Talk after SAARC Council of Ministers Meeting on the sidelines of UNGA Session in New York (27.09.18)#PTI #SAARC #UNGA @SMQureshiPTI pic.twitter.com/FgjqOCwUqB
— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 27, 2018
“Sushma Swaraj left in the middle of the SAARC meeting,” said the foreign minister, adding that he called for regional cooperation but how could such an object be achieved ‘when India is acting as an impediment to this’.
“The foreign minister emphasised that one country was holding the 1.7 billion people of South Asia hostage, while making vague statements and unsubstantiated, whimsical allegations. The SAARC summit has already been delayed by two years, with no end in sight,” an official statement of the foreign office read.
Earlier, India had to face backlash for canceling the foreign minister’s meeting.
