Commonwealth meet row: Hope 'better sense prevails' on Pakistan, says Venkaiah Naidu

NEW DELHI: Union minister Venkaiah Naidu today hoped that "better sense prevails on Pakistan" after India decided to boycott a Commonwealth meeting in Islamabad next month to protest against the neighbouring country not inviting the Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the event.

"Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference without India is incomplete and India without J-K is incomplete. Hope better sense prevails on Pakistan," Naidu said on twitter.

Another Union minister, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said Pakistan is possibly trying to "divert" attention because it is on the back-foot over incidents like the Gurdaspur terror attack in Punjab or the infiltration in J-K's Udhampur.

"There is no question of even considering anyone's point of view that Kashmir is disputed. It is absolutely resolved that Kashmir is an integral part of India. Kashmir is an undisputed territory and it is absolutely bizarre (if anyone tries to debate that)," said Rudy.

The above remarks came soon after India decided to boycott the Commonwealth Parliamentary Union meeting in the midst of tensions over the two terror attacks in Punjab and J-K.

"A meeting of the Speakers of all states here today unanimously decided that India will boycott the meeting of the CPU if the Speaker of the J-K Assembly is not invited," Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan told reporters here.

Pakistan has not sent an invitation to the J-K Assembly Speaker for the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting to be held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 8 in Islamabad while invitations have been sent to all the other Speakers in India.

The decision of the Speakers came against the backdrop of simmering tensions between the two countries over recent attacks in Punjab and J-K perpetrated by terrorists who had infiltrated from Pakistan.

Reacting to the boycott decision, Pakistan CPA representative Mian Tariq Mahmood said such a move would lead to no outcome and that "if a person has not been invited, then India should not sabotage the entire conference".