Pakistan is likely to be kept out from the Chabahar free trade summit Iran is organising in May, the Director General of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) confirmed to The Hindu on Monday.
“27 countries have been invited to participate in the summit in Chahbahar. Some non-littoral Indian Ocean states have also been invited.
But Pakistan is not on the list 
,” K.V. Bhagirath, Secretary-General of the IORA said over telephone from Mauritius.
It is learnt that Pakistan was not invited even for an informal representation. Mr Bhagirath, however, said that though the summit was being supported by a coordinating cell of the IORA in Tehran, the bulk of the work was being done by the Iranians.
India scaled up its investment in Chabahar following Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s visit to Iran last year. Geopolitics specialist Sanjay Chaturvedi of Panjab University, who has been invited by the IORA for the summit, said it would be the ideal occasion for Iran to showcase the port.
“
Iran wants to present Chabahar as a new door to the newly revived Iranian economy. Pakistan has an alternative in the Gwadar port but Chabahar has a broader appeal unlike Gwadar which is dedicated to Chinese energy needs,” he said.