India has said it will not attend a key regional summit in Pakistan, amid tensions between the archrivals.
India's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on September 27 that it would not participate due to "increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in the internal affairs of member states by one country."
The statement did not name Pakistan, but New Delhi has accused Pakistan-based militants of launching a deadly assault on an army base in India-controlled Kashmir this month that killed 18 soldiers.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to attend the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad. Other member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria said Islamabad remained committed to peace.
The SAARC was founded in 1985 to promote economic cooperation in the region, but tensions between India and Pakistan have often blocked its progress.
