Sushma Swaraj has been invited as a "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday announced that he will not attend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Dubai due to the attendance of Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj.
Sushma Swaraj has been invited as a "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi next month.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, "I will not attend Council of Foreign Ministers as a matter of principle for having extended invitation as a Guest of Honour to Sushma Swaraj."
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi: I will not attend Council of Foreign Ministers as a matter of principle for having extended invitation as a Guest of Honour to Sushma Swaraj. (file pic)
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Earlier in the day, Qureshi had said that he will not sit with Sushma Swaraj until tensions prevail at the borders. "Pakistan is the founder member of the OIC and it is our forum. We will attend it and put Pakistan's view on the table. India is not even the observer of the OIC, they have been invited for the first time. I will not sit together with Sushma ji until tensions prevail at our borders," Qureshi said.
Pakistan's foreign minister had earlier expressed reservations at the invitation to Sushma Swaraj at the OIC. He was also said to have exerting pressure at OIC to withdraw the invitation to the Indian minister.
Speaking on Geo News show, Aaj Shahzaib Khanzada Kay Sath, Mehmood Qureshi said, "I have spoken to the United Arab Emirates foreign minister and have expressed my reservations over her invitation. I have made myself clear that India has shown aggression."
"Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Sushma Swaraj is present," Qureshi said.
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