Pakistan’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Moeed Yusuf, on said that he will not attend the NSA-level meeting called by India on Afghanistan on November 10. Pakistan was invited for the meeting – hosted by India’s NSA Ajit Doval – along with China, Russia, Iran and other countries.

“I will not go… A spoiler can’t play the role of peacemaker,” Yusuf said in response to a question on whether Pakistan would be attending the NSA-level talks on Afghanistan. He confirmed the development during the signing of the security agreement with Uzbekistan, Pakistan media reported.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office had earlier confirmed that India had invited the country for a meeting on Afghanistan. Previously, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said that Islamabad’s decision to attend the meeting would be based on the current relationship between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan’s decision to send the NSA to Delhi would have been a significant departure from the current diplomatic posture between the two countries.

New Delhi had extended an invitation to NSAs of Russia, Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for the conference which is slated to take place next week. Though India attended the Moscow Format meet on Afghanistan recently, representatives of India and Pakistan did not hold any meetings on the sidelines of the event.

The diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Pulwama attack, in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed by a terrorist belonging to a Pakistan-backed terror outfit, and more recently over the Kashmir issue. Pakistan has made several attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue over the abrogation of Article 370, only to receive a muted response from the global community, including its allies.