Islamabad, Sept 17: In the face of India reacting coldly to his plans, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has dropped his proposal to visit India to deliver the invitation for the SAARC summit to be held here in January next as a protest against "discourteous" remarks by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha. "The Indian Minister's remarks were not only discourteous but also reflected his utter contempt for South Asian cultural values, traditions of hospitality and established SAARC practice," a late night statement issued by Pakistan foreign office spokesman said here yesterday referring to Sinha's remarks that Kasuri's visit was not strictly necessary.
Expressing surprise over Sinha's remarks, the Pakistan spokesman said it was "inappropriate" and regretted that he had "objected" to Kasuri's visit to SAARC capitals to personally deliver the invitation letters.
"The Indian Foreign Minister has perhaps forgotten that it was a SAARC tradition, which was being strictly adhered to by the countries of the region interested in the continuation of the SAARC process," he said.
The spokesman said Sinha's remarks also "confirmed the apprehensions of all SAARC countries that India was not only disinterested in the SAARC process but also had no intention of engaging Pakistan in a dialogue to resolve all outstanding disputes including the core issue of Jammu & Kashmir".
He said the Pakistan government has taken due notice of Sinha's remarks and would accordingly exclude India from the list of countries Kasuri intends to visit to personally deliver letters of invitation during the second leg of his tour.
"The letter of invitation of Prime Minister Vajpayee would be delivered through other diplomatic channels as suggested by Sinha," he said.
Referring to Kasuri's visit to Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka to deliver the invitation for the summit, the spokesman said the Pakistan Foreign Minister has received tremendous support in those countries for the continuation of the SAARC process.
He hoped India would also "emulate the other SAARC countries and not disrupt the SAARC summit as it did in the past".
Kasuri concluded his three-nation tour of SAARC countries to deliver the invitation yesterday. He had earlier proposed to visit India, Bhutan and Maldives next month to personally to deliver the invitation.
Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal had said on Monday that there was no need for Pakistan Foreign Minister Mehmood Kasuri to personally invite Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for the SAARC visit. Bureau Report