India envoy says Modi’s Pak visit on; no decision yet, rebuts ministry

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India was left scrambling on Tuesday after its envoy to Pakistan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “looking forward” to visiting Islamabad

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India was left scrambling on Tuesday after its envoy to Pakistan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “looking forward” to visiting Islamabad for the Saarc Summit in November, prompting officials to clarify that a final decision is yet to be made.

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Tension between the two countries has spiked recently and high commissioner Gautam Bambawale’s remarks during a function in Karachi city took some in New Delhi by surprise.

“I can’t say about the future but as of today, Prime Minister Modi is looking forward to visiting Islamabad for the Saarc summit in November this year,” Bambawale was quoted by Dawn newspaper. The comment was made on Monday. External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup clarified that “decisions and announcements of such nature are not made so far in advance”.

A foreign ministry source questioned the envoy’s remarks. “Whether he should have made the comment now is another question. But it’s also a fact that it was a qualified statement,” he said.

Pakistan formally invited Modi to the summit and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj had said in December – before the attack on Pathankot airbase that India says was coordinated from Pakistani soil by Jaish-e-Mohammed – that Modi would attend.

On Tuesday, the Karachi chamber of commerce scrapped a meeting for which it had invited Bambawale months ago. The last-minute cancellation is believed to have been a consequence of the Indian high commission’s anti-Pakistan remarks on Monday.

At the event in which he spoke about Modi’s visit, Bambawale had also attacked Pakistan and said “people living in glass houses should not throw stones” in reference to Islamabad’s stand on the recent unrest in Kashmir.