Sanjrani rejects Indian invite to attend PAC ceremony

Says he not attend any Indian function until New Delhi reinstated the special status of IIOJK

ISLAMABAD:

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has rejected India Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s invitation to visit New Delhi to attend the centennial celebrations ceremony of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), sources said on Thursday.

The refusal came in protest against India’s August 2019 move to revoke Article 370 and 35-A which stripped the Kashmiris of the special autonomy they had for seven decades through a rushed presidential order.

Sanjrani said he would not attend any Indian function until New Delhi reinstated the special status of IIOJK.

The centennial celebrations ceremony is scheduled to be held on December 4.

The invitation letter sent by the Indian speaker noted that President Ram Noth Govind would inaugurate the event while Prime Minister Narendra Modi would also deliver a speech on the occasion.

On November 2, National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf also turned down India's invitation to attend a meeting of the national security advisers of regional countries on Afghanistan, categorically announcing that he would not visit New Delhi.

"I will not visit New Delhi on India's invitation," Yusuf said, during a media talk after signing of a protocol between Pakistan and Uzbekistan for the establishment of a joint security commission to enhance bilateral cooperation on security affairs.