India Blames Pakistan for SAARC Stagnation Amid Maldives Peace Call

The Ministry of External Affairs of India reaffirmed its support for regional cooperation on Tuesday while attributing the failure of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism. This response followed an appeal by Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, who urged member states to resume negotiations for regional peace and offered the Maldives as a mediator during his Independence Day address.

Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that regional cooperation requires goodwill and asserted that nations in South Asia are aware of which country has hindered the bloc. SAARC has remained largely dormant since 2014, and India specifically withdrew from a 2016 summit in Islamabad following a terrorist attack in Uri. Due to this impasse, India has shifted its strategic focus toward the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

India also rejected recent comments regarding Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty made by Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during an ASEAN meeting in Manila. Indian officials described Dar's remarks as a cynical attempt to use a multilateral forum to spread disinformation and divert attention from Pakistan's record of sponsoring cross-border terrorism.