Commonwealth Speaker's meeting: Pak Speaker not to attend, no Pak flag at venue

NEw new delhi: west pakistan’s verbalizer Sardar Ayaz Sadiq testament non attend the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC), to be held in New Delhi this week, two senior officials told HT. It has also been decided that Pakistan’s flag would not be displayed anywhere during the three-day conference, they added, asking not to be named.Bangladesh too, will not be represented in the conference as there is no Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad, the national parliament which was dissolved on August 6 2024 after the Sheikh Hasina government collapsed.Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Conference on 15 January 2026 in the historic Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, Parliament House Complex.One of the two people cited above, a senior Lok Sabha official, maintained that a “general intimation” and a “common invitation” for the meeting was circulated through the CSPOC secretariat to all 56 Commonwealth countries. “We did not follow up with Pakistan if they are coming or not,” a senior official, aware of the details told HT.In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 last year, resulting in the death of 25 tourists and a pony operator, India has shunned all ties with its western neighbour. India launched Operation Sindoor, in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror infrastructure and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The two countries then traded attacks before declaring a ceasefire on May 10.India terminated the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 soon after the terror attack, and Modi told the nation before the Operation Sindoor started that water and blood can’t flow together. India also closed Attari border and revoked visas to Pakistan and imposed a total ban on Pakistani artists.The Indian cricket team has consistently refused to shake hands with Pakistani cricketers after the Pahalgam terror attack. It also refused to accept its Asia Cup trophy from Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC).An official communique from the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office said that 59 Speakers and Presiding Officers from CSPOC countries and Autonomous Parliaments have confirmed their participation. In addition India’s Lok Sabha Speaker and the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha will also attend the event.“Of the 61 Speakers and Presiding Officers who have confirmed their participation, 44 are Speakers and 15 are Deputy Speakers. Of the 44 Speakers, 41 Speakers are from CSPOC Countries and 4 from Autonomous Parliaments,” it said.