India blocks Pakistan's entry to ARF

India blocks Pakistan's entry to ARF

CAMBODIA: India has blocked ASEAN's push for Pakistan to join the Asia-Pacific's top security grouping, according to a delegate attending the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) earlier in the week agreed to lift the moratorium on ARF membership to seek membership for Pakistan in the grouping.

But Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha told ARF ministers and officials holding annual talks in the Cambodian capital on Wednesday that the issue "should be tabled at a future meeting of the ARF so that members can have a say and have a discussion about this," the delegate said on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan had earlier Wednesday welcomed ASEAN's pledge to push for its inclusion in the 23-member ARF, which officials had said would boost moves against terrorism and toward resolving its dispute with India over Kashmir. --AFP