Pakistan said Monday that Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s warning that he would not attend a South Asian summit in Islamabad unless attacks stopped in Kashmir was designed to “scuttle” the summit, AFP reported.

“If the Indian government had reservations about attending the SAARC in Islamabad, it should say so clearly rather than raising red herrings every now and then,” a short Foreign Ministry statement said. “It is now quite evident that India was engaged in an effort to scuttle the SAARC summit,” it added.

Islamabad has proposed January 11 to 13 as the summit dates. India has yet to confirm its participation.