Speculations are rife whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Islamabad to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit or not in light of the increasing tensions between the two neighboring countries.
Speculation has emanated following a tweet from India's Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Vikas Swarup that, “As I stated in my weekly briefing, decisions and announcements of such a nature are not made so far in advance.”
Vikas Swarup’s reaction came after the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad, Gautam Bambawale, said at an interactive session of the Karachi Council of Foreign Relations that “I can’t say about the future, but as of today, Prime Minister Modi is looking forward to visiting Islamabad for the SAARC Summit in November.”
However, none of this changes the fact that India hopes to avoid derailing the efforts of its peace process with Pakistan, and if Modi stays away from the SAARC Summit, his government would be sending the wrong signal. Personally Modi is also very much eager to strengthen relations with Pakistan, he does not want to compromise on the core principles which he intends to discuss with Pakistan.
Therefore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the upcoming SAARC Summit in Pakistan cannot be completely ruled out, but it will depend on how things play out between India and Pakistan in the coming months.
