Pakistan's absence from the South Asian Speaker's Summit here was termed by regional neighbours Afghanistan and Bangladesh as "disappointing and unfortunate", with the representative from Kabul saying Islamabad has adopted terrorism as its policy which would prove a serious threat for it in future.
"It is unfortunate that Pakistan is not attending the summit.
We don't know the reason, perhaps they can say it better.
Being the neighbouring country we would have been happier if Pakistan would have attended the summit, " Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, Speaker of the National Assembly of Afghanistan, told IANS.
Dubbing terrorism as a serious threat to South Asia, Ibrahimi said that Pakistan has adopted terrorism as it policy.
"Terrorism remains a threat to the South Asian countries, including Pakistan but unfortunately rulers of Pakistan have always supported terrorism.
This policy of Pakistan is not in the interest of the South Asian region.
In the future it is going to be a big threat to Pakistan, " he said.
Ibrahimi also said that terrorism is a very serious threat to Afghanistan. "We invite cooperation from India towards improvement in people's life, security and political areas in the region.
We believe that this is in the interest of the people of South Asia, " he said.
Lauding India for its approach towards Afghanistan, Ibrahimi said: "India is a big country and is an effective and influential power in the region.
India has been a brotherly friend to Afghanistan and in the last 15 years it has supported Afghanistan with more than $2 billion aid. "
"What we want from India is this relation to be further improved and developed.
We want improvement in security and also enhanced relations between both countries.
Hopefully it will continue in the future, " he added.
Inter - Parliamentary Union (IPU) president and Bangladesh MP Saber Chowdhury expressed disappointment at Pakistan not taking part in the Summit here and hoped that it would join the platform in near future.
Chowdhury said that IPU strives for consensus and if the governments were not talking to each other, the parliamentarians should engage in dialogue.
"It's a disappointment that Pakistan is not with us today.
Of course it is not unusual for the governments (to strive) for consensus but we at the IPU believe that it's absolutely critical.
When the governments do not talk or stop talking, the parliamentarians should continue with engaged dialogue, " Chowdhury said.
Pakistan is not participating in the two - day meeting that is discussing poverty, development, environment and gender concerns in South Asia.
Pakistan's decision is an apparent tit - for - tat over India's boycott of the Saarc summit in Islamabad in November last year that got deferred as other members too pulled out.
Relations between the two countries have been strained after a terror attack at an Army camp in Uri, in Jammu and Kashmir, in September last year, and earlier another one in Pathankot.
India has blamed both the attacks on Pakistan - based militants.
Chowdhury also said that countries impose sanctions against each other but the "sanction regime" should not apply to parliamentarians.
"Pakistan is not here but we hope that they will be joining this platform in near future, " he said. Later, talking to IANS Chowdhury hoped that sooner the Pakistan realises better it is going to be.
"Dialogue is the way for all cases even if we have accute differences.
Idea of parliamentary dialogue is that we should be able to talk if we aren't able to visit each other countries then how are you going to have dialogue.
IPU is a global organization for multilateral political and legislative discussions.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in her speech said the South Asian countries must work in tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of the people.
"We in South Asia have not only a shared history, a contiguous geography, but also a shared destiny.
We must work in tandem to achieve the goals for peace and prosperity of our people, " she said.
Later, talking to IANS Mahajan said that Pakistan was invited as it is also part of the South Asian countries.
The February 18 - 20 summit was inaugurated by Mahajan and attended by the presiding officers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The summit is being organised jointly by the Indian Parliament and Inter - Parliamentary Union (IPU), a global organisation for multilateral political and legislative discussions.
On Sunday, the summit would release the Indore declaration on sustainable development goals.
Hello EnglishHello English
