Pakistan, Bangladesh unlikely at Delhi Commonwealth Officers meet

New Delhi: Pakistan and Bangladesh are unlikely to be represented at the Commonwealth Presiding Officers Conference (CSPOC) being hosted by India next week, amid broader regional diplomatic considerations rather than any departure from established conference protocol.

The 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments of the Commonwealth will be held in Parliament from January 14 to 16. Presiding officers from several Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Canada, Maldives, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom, are expected to attend. The discussions will focus on democratic institutions, legislative practices and inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The participation of countries such as Canada, Malaysia and the Maldives is notable, given varying degrees of restraint in India's bilateral engagements with some of them in recent years.


Sources said CSPOC is a multilateral platform governed by its own procedures, and no country has been formally barred. Conference details were circulated through the CSPOC secretariat and published on its website, but there was no direct leader-level outreach to Islamabad or Dhaka. There is, as yet, no indication that either country will be represented. Bangladesh's absence is linked to the suspension of its parliament, which limits its ability to participate in such forums. Pakistan's likely non-participation reflects India's broader curtailment of bilateral engagement in recent years over cross-border terrorism, extending to political and parliamentary interactions.