Maldives has become the fifth country to join India and four other nations in boycotting the Saarc Summit, which was scheduled to be held in Islamabad from November 9, saying that it will not participate in the event.
The country has requested all member states of the Saarc group to create an "environment conducive for holding the 19th Saarc Summit" while condemning terrorism and threats to regional and international peace.
"The Maldives encouraged States to provide a valuable opportunity for the leaders to discuss critical issues facing the region and expressed hope that the required measures will be taken by relevant member states to convene the Summit at an early date," the Maldives government said in a statement.
"The appeal by the government of Maldives follows the decisions by some of the Saarc member states who have expressed their inability to attend the Summit scheduled for November due to terrorism, and threats to regional and international peace. The Maldives condemns international terrorism, especially those originating from outside," the statement added.
The island nation had earlier refused to pull out of the event and had appealed to other nations to sort out all disputes through dialogue.
Pakistan was on Friday forced to postpone the Summit after India and four other nations had declined to attend. The Pakistan government accused India of impeding the process by not attending the event.
Nepal, being the chairperson of Saarc, cannot pull out of the event.
"As a Chair of the SAARC, Nepal is ready to play its role. And, as a Chair, Nepal has already urged the member states to create conducive environment to hold the event as soon as possible," Nepal's Foreign Ministry had said in a statement.
The Saarc Summit is automatically postponed or cancelled even if one member state pulls out.
It seems the Indian government's attempt to isolate Pakistan on all international forums following the Uri attack is working, with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives having boycotted the Saarc Summit.
