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Kathmandu Saturday January 05, 2002 Paush 21, 2058.
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SAARC summit : Doubts and
hopes
By Shailendra K Upadhyay
The eleventh summit of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) begins today. An advisory committee was
formed consisting of people representing various sectors and the committees having
completed their deliberations submitted the reports to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba
on December 19. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has circulated the agenda as well as the
draft of the Kathmandu Declaration which would be adopted by the Summit meeting tomorrow.
At the same time, His Majesty’s
Government has made all necessary arrangements to receive the Heads of state and
government, and to make their stay pleasant and comfortable. Those involved in all these
preparations have begun count down with great confidence. Still, in the public mind, great
doubt is lurking about the possibility of the summit. This doubt has been strengthened
because of the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan after the terrorist
attack on Indian parliament.
India and Pakistan are most important
countries of this region. In order to survive and develop, SAARC needs the participation
and support of both countries. Any possibility of flare-up between these two important
members of SAARC leading to a large-scale tussle shall have a disastrous effect on summit
preparations. The reason is quite obvious.
The incident of terrorist attack on the
Indian parliament has enraged the entire Indian masses and their hostility toward Pakistan
has reached new heights. The militants and religious fundamentalists have been demanding
heavy action against Pakistan.
While recent events have been the alarming
cause for such a mood the Indo-Pakistan tension has been a permanent phenomenon since the
partition of India and creation of Pakistan. The tension between the two neighbours has
had its ups and downs. They have already fought three wars in last fifty years. On the eve
of the independence of India, when its partition and creation of Pakistan had become
certain, the British had proposed that the native state in the then India could choose
either to remain with India or Pakistan or remain independent .The native rulers had to
sign an "instrument of accession" declaring their choice. Raja Hari Singh, the
Hindu ruler of Muslim dominated Kashmir chose to join India. This act was never accepted
by Pakistan which was created on the basis of "the nation theory". Pakistan
always held the view that the Muslims had to join the Islamic Pakistan. India rejected
Pakistan’s theory and not only raised the issue of legitimacy due to the Kashmir
ruler’s signing of the instrument of accession in favour of India but also the
support given to the rulers’ choice by Kashmir’s leaders like Sheikh Abdullah
and his National Conference which had a real hold over the people of Kashmir.
The arguments by India and Pakistan on
Kashmir issue is so fundamentally different that a possibility of reconciliation between
the two seems impossible. So as long as India and Pakistan do not find a way to deal with
the issue, taking into account the enormous expense to maintain the line of control while
millions of people are deprived of basic needs to sustain their lives, there is no way to
remove tension between these two.
India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. The
development of nuclear capacity has been to create a deterrence against the other.
However, the possession of nuclear arsenal by both countries has become mutually
destructive. So, the possibility of "no win" war has itself created nuclear
deterrent. This has not stopped periodic arms conflict though both seem to be conscious of
their responsibilities as nuclear powers.
The recent developments in our region
particularly the escalation of tension between India and Pakistan has created an uncertain
atmosphere but restrain shown by India assures that war is not imminent in near future.
India will do everything in its might to isolate Pakistan as a state which sponsors
terrorism and the tension may not show any sign to deescalate soon.
SAARC summit under the shadow of such
developments may not be as fruitful as it could be in normal time but there is enough room
to believe that the SAARC agenda containing many area and issue of common interest will be
addressed and certain common commitment will be made.
The Eleventh SAARC summit is supposed to
address inter alia the question of terrorism, a move towards South Asian Free Trade Area
(SAFTA), and a plan of action for the alleviation of poverty.
Poverty and terrorism are common problems.
Poverty and unemployment are the root causes of anguish and desperation which lead to
insane and cruel behaviour. The question of fulfilling basic needs of the people is
neither properly addressed, nor is a strong plan of action evolved. This shows the basis
for terrorism shall remain alive and vibrant. In order to achieve political stability in
the region, the menace of terrorism has to be curbed. For this, activities on the economic
front to alleviate poverty has become a matter of supreme importance.
For this reason, SAFTA assumes a very
important position. SAFTA shall not only create various economic opportunities but it
shall also add a new dimension in the area of interaction among the people. The more is
the interaction among the people the chances of better understanding among the people
grows with it. The growth in better understanding among the people can act as a catalyst
to put pressure upon their respective governments to put aside all prejudices and create
new avenues of understanding.
The very fact that the summit would take
place after a long period of three years and half is in itself an achievement and despite
the gloomy atmosphere in the region there is strong reason to hope that the summit would
be able to pave a path for moving forward to the desired direction.
(The author is former minister of foreign
affairs)
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