India’s refusal to attend summit against SAARC spirit: Mandiwala

ISLAMABAD, Apr 3 (APP):Acting Senate Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla Tuesday said Pakistan wanted to strengthen South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for regional development and prosperity, but India’s refusal to attend the summit in Pakistan was unfortunate and against the spirit of SAARC.
Pakistan, he said, wanted peace to flourish in the region and beyond, and SAARC could play an important role in boosting regional cooperation for growth and prosperity of South Asia.
The acting Senate chairman expressed the views while exchanging views with acting High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Mohammad Anas here at the Parliament House, according to a press release.
Saleem Mandviwalla said Pakistan placed its bilateral relations with Sri Lanka at high esteem and desired to further expand bilateral cooperation in different fields for benefit of the people of two sides.
He underscored the need for activation of parliamentary friendship groups to develop people-to-people contacts and further strengthen parliamentary linkages.
He said Pakistan and Sri Lanka enjoyed a time-tested friendship as both had stood by the side of each other in testing times and continued to maintain strong, robust and reliable relations through increased interaction at the highest political level and in the people-to-people domain. “Parliaments of the two sides can explore more avenues of cooperation,” he added.
The Sri Lankan envoy agreed to further boost bilateral linkages through enhanced parliamentary cooperation and thanked the acting Senate chairman for warm welcome at the Parliament House.