Just a day after a spokesperson from Pakistan foreign office had reportedly claimed PM Narendra Modi was invited to Pakistan for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad, India has now dismissed the invite as a mere ploy.
Meanwhile, the decision comes on the heels of India and Pakistan joining hands to build the Dera Baba Nanak-Kartarpur corridor, a border gate between the two countries, reports The Times of India.
"India is not a special invitee that Pakistan has the discretion to invite us. India is integral to the Saarc process," a senior government official told TOI. "The date for a Saarc summit is finalised with the consent of all members. And that has not happened."
The last SAARC summit was supposed to be held at Islamabad in 2016, in which eight countries were supposed to take part -- India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
India had announced to boycott the summit after terrorists attacked army camp in Uri, alleging Pakistan's involvement in it. Later several other countries also withdrew from the summit, making it an indefinite postponement of the SAARC summit.
