DIPLOMATIC WIN FOR INDIA: Pakistan to not attend OIC meeting because Sushma Swaraj is Guest of Honour

Moments after India's External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj was received in Abu Dhabi with full diplomatic protocol as she is set to address the OIC Conclave as 'Guest Of Honour', Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has given out a statement that he "will not attend Council of Foreign Ministers as a matter of principle for having extended invitation as a Guest of Honour to Sushma Swaraj".

Earlier, Shah Mehmood Qureshi had officially apprised to the OIC of a probable boycott to the event if the invitation extended to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was not withdrawn. 

In a letter, the Pakistan Foreign Minister wrote to OIC Secretary-General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen that Pakistan would be compelled to reassess their presence at the event if Indian Foreign Ministry would be in attendance.

This comes parallel to Pak PM Imran Khan's call for 'peace' and a second incursion by Pakistan Air Force in Indian airspace on Thursday. 

Diplomatic benefits

The global community has stood in solidarity with India since the Pulwama attack on CRPF jawans perpetrated by Pak-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, consolidating their support in counter-terrorism initiatives. 

The United States, Britain, and France proposed on Wednesday that the United Nations Security Council blacklist the head of Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad. It was the third attempt to put Masood Azhar, leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed, on the UN terror blacklist, which would subject him to a global travel ban and assets freeze.

Read: EAM Sushma Swaraj Received With Full Diplomatic Protocol In Abu Dhabi As She Is Set To Address OIC Conclave As 'Guest Of Honour'

Pak provocation

The MEA sources have responded to the neighbour's fabrication by explaining the exact methods used by Pakistan to provoke India and destroyed the position taken by the nation where it has attempted to portray itself as a peace-loving victim of supposed 'aggression by India'.

Although India had targeted Pakistan-backed terror bases in the country's territory with zero civilian and military casualties, Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target India's military installations, and moreover have claimed to 'negotiate' the Indian Wing Commander in Pakistan's custody.