Pakistan decides against attending US democracy summit.

Pakistan on Tuesday decided against participating in the Second Summit for Democracy being held by the US on March 29-30, 2023.

Pakistan is among over 100 countries invited by US President Joe Biden to the summit. In 2021, Islamabad had politely refused to attend the moot without specifying any reasons.

The summit was being considered a major opportunity for the cash-strapped Pakistan to win over the support of the US to revive the much-needed loan programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stalled since last year. Currently, the federal government is racing to secure guarantees from friendly states for external financing, a key demand by the global lender for releasing the bailout package.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said: 'We are thankful to the United States and the co-host countries for inviting Pakistan to attend the Second Summit for Democracy being held on 29-30 March 2023'.

Pakistan had not been part of the Summit process that commenced in 2021 and required countries to make certain national commitments.

'The Summit process is now at an advanced stage and therefore, Pakistan would engage...