Sushma Swaraj leaves SAARC foreign ministers meeting mid-way

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj avoided even eye contact with her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the SAARC foreign ministers’ meet on the sidelines of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York, sending out an unambiguous signal to the neighbouring country after India’s flip-flop over accepting newly installed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s request for a meeting of the duo.

Swaraj left the meeting early, before Qureshi was due to make his remarks, owing to her hectic schedule, said people aware of the matter. India had last Friday rejected Khan’s request a day after accepting it, citing brutal killings of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan-based entities and release of postage stamps by Pakistan glorifying a terrorist.

In her remarks at the SAARC foreign ministers’ meet, Swaraj said while India was pushing for integration within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the atmosphere of cross-border terrorism had slowed down the process.


“An environment of peace and security is essential for regional cooperation to progress and achieve economic development and prosperity of our people. The number of threats and incidents that endanger South Asia are on the rise,” said Swaraj.

“Terrorism remains the single largest threat to peace and stability in our region, and indeed in the world. It is necessary that we eliminate the scourge of terrorism in all its forms, without any discrimination, and end the ecosystem of its support,” Sushma Swaraj said.