Sunday, August 14 2005 10:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Pakistan yesterday night (Aug 13, 2005) put off a meeting of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) foreign secretaries next week in view of the assassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

The Standing Committee meeting of the SAARC Foreign Secretaries in Islamabad was initially scheduled from Aug 16 to 18.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran along with his counterparts of the other countries was scheduled to take part in the meeting.

Announcing the postponement, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Naeem Khan said new dates for the meetings will be announced in consultations with the member countries and SAARC Secretariat.

Pakistan, currently the Chairman of the SAARC, had proposed to hold the meeting to finalise the schedule and agenda for the SAARC Chair. The meetings consisted of the 31st Session of the Standing Committee and 26th session of the Programming Committee.

The decision of postponement has been taken out of respect for Kadirgamar who made a valuable contribution as a member of the SAARC Council of Ministers in strengthening the SAARC process, Khan said even as he condemned the killing.

"The Government of Pakistan strongly condemn this dastardly act of terrorism. Kadirgamar will always be remembered as a leading statesman and as a good friend of Pakistan," he said.

Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri will represent Pakistan at the state funeral of late Lakshman Kadirgamar, he added.