Indian finance minister cancels visit to Pakistan

India will be represented by Finance Secretary Shashikant Das at the regional summit, ANI further said.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had visited Islamabad earlier this month for the seventh Saarc Home Ministers Meeting.

Rajnath also made it clear that he was not treated well in Pakistan, confirming that he skipped a lunch hosted by his counterpart during a meeting of SAARC ministers.

The conference is scheduled on August 25-26 in Islamabad.

“Pakistan mein jaana aur nark mein jaana eik hi hai”, Parrikar was quoted as saying by the Indian media on Tuesday while addressing a meeting in Rewari, a district in the Indian state of Haryana. He also said Pakistan was facing the consequences of its policy of encouraging terrorism. Barbs were exchanged between Singh and Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who only had a tense and uneasy handshake during the SAARC meeting. The two ministers barely shook hands and stayed away from a lunch hosted for the Saarc ministers.

More than 50 Parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are expected to participate in this global event, initiated by Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Speaker National Assembly. “At the same time, we must give the clear signal that Pakistan needs to mend its ways and reverse the semi-war situation that it is now engaged in with India”, he said.

Sadiq’s comments come in the wake of violence in Jammu and Kashmir that has left at least 65 people dead in the aftermath of the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

On Monday, PM Modi, in his Independence Day speech, took an aggressive stance against Pakistan. Pakistan’s offer of talks on the Kashmir issue has been rejected by India, which said any dialogue should focus on terrorism.