Amid escalating tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad over cross-border firing, Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice Zaheer Jamali has decided not to attend a global conference in India.
The "Global Conference on National Initiative towards Strengthening Arbitration and Enforcement" organised by the National Institute for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), is scheduled to be held between October 21 and 23.
"Owing to recent developments, it will not be possible for me to visit India," the Express Tribune quoted, Justice Jamali, as saying.
The Chief Justice of India, T. S. Thakur is the patron-in-chief of the conference.
According to reports, Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale had met Justice Jamali in July and invited him to attend the conference.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Farogh Nasim appreciated the chief justice's refusal and said that legal community supports the Pakistan Army against any unpleasant escalation.