New Delhi, Feb 2: After boycotting the diamond jubilee celebrations of Election Commission of India and International Book Fair, Pakistan also abstained from the Surajkund craft mela here. The Pakistan authorities have not sent craftsmen and artisans to participate in the two-week long mela, where other SAARC nations are displaying their handicraft and other products. This is the second time that Pakistan is not attending the mela. Due to Mumbai attacks, Pakistan preferred to stay away from the craft mela in 2009.
 The Pakistani Government is upset over non-inclusion of its players in the IPL auction. It felt that players were humiliated by the teams.  This followed cancellation of the visit of high level delegation of the Pakistan Election Commission in the diamond jubilee celebrations, which was  attended by representatives of neighbouring nations besides leaders of all political parties.
 The Pakistan National Book Foundation also stayed away from the International Book Fair event, which is currently underway in the Pragati Maidan. However, some private publishers and book houses are attending the fair in private capacity. It is hoped that Home Minister P Chidambaram’s proposed visit to Islamabad for the SAARC Home Ministers’ conference may pave way for putting talks back on the rails. He is expected to interact with various leaders of Pakistan to ascertain their views on various bilateral matters.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 2 Feb 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 2 Feb 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 3 Feb 2010 00:00:00 IST