Bangladesh pulls out of Saarc summit as Pak-India tensions rise

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Wednesday pulled out of a key regional summit to be held in Pakistan, a day after India said it was boycotting the event over a cross-border attack on a military base in Uri.

Bhutan and Afghanistan were also reported to be withdrawing from the November summit after India announced late Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not take part, citing "increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region".

Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have deteriorated sharply since a deadly attack on a military base in Indian Occupied Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan.

Pakistan denies any involvement in the attack, in which 18 Indian soldiers died.

On Wednesday junior Bangladesh foreign minister Shahriar Alam confirmed to AFP by text message that Bangladesh would not attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit.

Indian media cited Dhaka as blaming "the growing interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh by one country", and said Bhutan and Afghanistan were also planning to withdraw.

Responding to India´s move, Pakistan said it remained "committed to peace and regional cooperation" and accused New Delhi of perpetrating "terrorism" on its soil.

"As for the excuse used by India, the world knows that it is India that has been perpetrating and financing terrorism in Pakistan," tweeted foreign ministry spokesman Nafees Zakariya late Tuesday, citing the capture of an Indian intelligence officer in Baluchistan earlier this year.