Pakistan, on Thursday, refused to host Commonwealth Parliamentary Union meeting amid mounting tension with India.
The conference to be held in Islamabad from September 30 to October 8 was to bring together speakers of Commonwealth nations.
A meeting of Speakers of all states unanimously decided that India will boycott the meeting of the CPU if the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is not invited.
— Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker, Lok Sabha
The conference will now be held in New York.
We have clarified to the London Secretariat of the Commonwealth that Kashmir is a disputed territory and now it is impossible for the Commonwealth Conference to be held in Pakistan.
— Ayaz Sadiq, National Assembly Speaker
He said the Kashmir issue could not be overlooked at any cost and the assembly speaker would not be invited.
According to him, Pakistan was selected as the venue on the condition of Jammu and Kashmir Speaker’s absence.
(With inputs from PTI)
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