NEW DELHI: The SAARC summit, due to be held in Bangladesh on Jan.1314, has been postponed indefinitely, following the prime minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, calling off his visit to Dhaka on Saturday.
An external affairs ministry spokesman said here that political tensions created by actions in some countries in the sub content had not abated.
“Unfortunately, public demonstrations and acts amounting to interference in the internal affairs of India have continued to vitiate the atmosphere. This naturally impacts negatively on the prospects of the SAARC summit,” the spokesman said. The prime minister is sending the ministers of state for external affairs, R.L.Bhatia and Eduardo Falciro, to Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka on Sunday to explain the circumstances under which he was not able to attend the summit India has been unhappy with the lack of restraint and understanding on the part of Pakistan and Bangladesh following the demolition of the Babri mosque. Radicals of 12 Muslim parties had threatened to disrupt Rao’s program.
The summit was originally scheduled for December 1213, but was postponed when Rao cancelled his trip following the Dec.6.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 15, 1993
