Pakistan has been trying to raise Kashmir issue at various international forums

Jammu and Kashmir is an "internal matter" of India, the Male Declaration adopted by the leaders at the South Asian Speakers' Summit in the Maldives on Monday said "unanimously" and overlooked all assertions made by Pakistan on the issue.

The declaration was adopted a day after India thwarted an attempt by Pakistan to raise the Kashmir issue during the summit. India and Pakistan had a heated exchange during the summit at the Maldivian Parliament where the representatives of the South Asian countries had gathered.

The South Asian Speakers' Summit, while adopting the Male Declaration, overlooked all assertions made by the Pakistani parliamentary delegation, sources in the Lok Sabha Secretariat told PTI.

Before finalising the declaration, speakers attending the Summit held a round table on Monday on the concluding day of the summit to discuss the outcome.

"All efforts of the Pakistan delegation to get even a passing reference to Kashmir issue finding a mention in the declaration drew a nought. The summit unanimously felt that Jammu and Kashmir was an internal matter of India," a source said.

Besides Kashmir, Pakistan's references to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) also could not find a place in Male Declaration, sources said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is heading the Indian delegation, proposed several additions and amendments to the draft which were unanimously accepted, they said.