NEW DELHI (PTI): The seventh SAARC summit due to begin in Dhaka on Dec.12 has been put off by a month and is now likely to be held on Jan.13-14 it is learned.
The postponement follows developments in India consequent to the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on Dec.6.
Prime Minister P.V.Narsimha Rao was to leave for Dhaka on Dec.11 the day the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court is to deliver its judgments on the acquisition of 2.77 acres of land by the now dismissed BJP government.
Official level preparatory meeting for the Dec.12-13 summit was to begin in Dhaka Dec.8.
According to the changed schedule this meeting will now begin on Jan.8.
The destruction of the mosque in Ayodhya on Dec.6 has plunged India into turmoil with communal riots raging across the country and the opposition mounting calls for prime minister Rao’s resignation.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 18, 1992
