Pakistan accuses India of stalling SAARC, citing the organization’s near inactivity, and seeks a new South Asia alliance with China and Bangladesh. India cites cross-border terrorism as the reason SAARC cannot progress without regional peace.
Pakistan again accuses India of rendering the organization inactive
New Delhi: Pakistan has once again reacted sharply against India regarding SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), the oldest regional organization in South Asia.
Pakistan claims that the organization has become almost inactive due to India, even though it could have played a crucial role for the entire region. This statement has once again highlighted the political tension between India and Pakistan.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said that India has consistently obstructed the SAARC process. He claimed that this is why the organization is unable to fulfill its true role.
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Pakistan also says that New Delhi often propagates the idea that SAARC is not progressing because the meeting was supposed to be held in Islamabad, whereas this is not the first time this has happened. According to Pakistan, India also obstructed the SAARC summit in the 1990s.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Pakistan is trying to form a new South Asia Regional Group with China and Bangladesh. This move is being seen as a strategy to reduce India's influence.
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Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Advisor Mohammad Tauhid Hossain has also indicated that Dhaka is considering the possibility of this new group.
SAARC comprises eight countries—India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. At one time, this organization was considered the voice of South Asia.
But for the last ten years, the organization has been stalled. After the Kathmandu summit in 2014, no meeting could be held for two years. The main reason behind this is considered to be the continuously deteriorating political relations between India and Pakistan.
India has not given any official comment on this statement. However, India has previously stated that it is not possible to move forward with SAARC activities in an environment of cross-border terrorism.
India believes that Pakistan must first create an atmosphere of peace in the region; only then will a new SAARC meeting be possible. SAARC's inactivity and Pakistan's new strategy highlight the challenges in regional cooperation in South Asia.
The tensions between India and Pakistan and the challenges of terrorism are preventing the organization from fully fulfilling its intended role.
