NATIONAL 2 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Summit Amid Tensions

Despite escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, officials are hoping for a fruitful summit

By BHAGIRATH YOGI

The terrorist attacks on the Indian parliament on December 13 once again exposed deep animosity between India and Pakistan. With India pointing its finger toward Pakistan for allegedly harboring terrorists on its territory, and the latter denying the accusation, it seemed that the 11th SAARC Summit would be postponed once again. The rivalry between the two countries had resulted in the postponement of the summit in 1999.

Banners to welcome guests : Warm hospitality

Busy with last-minute preparations for the summit, Nepali officials, however, said they had already received confirmation of participation from all six members. In an effort to reach the international audience, Royal Nepalese ambassador in New Delhi, Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, organized a press meet in the Indian capital Monday and said the summit will take place as scheduled. Dr. Thapa said all the members have reassured Nepal that they will participate in the three-day summit (January 4-6) in Kathmandu. "The issue of terrorism would be high on the agenda of the summit," said the Nepalese envoy.

During the third SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu in 1987, a regional convention on suppression of terrorism was signed. The convention calls upon contracting states to cooperate through appropriate measures to curb terrorist activities in the region. The convention is yet to be enforced effectively due to lack of enabling legislation in most member states. "The Kathmandu summit is expected to reaffirm its commitment forcefully to the convention and to the need for its effective and expeditious implementation by making national laws consistent with the provisions of the convention," said Dr. Mohan P. Lohani, a former ambassador and foreign relations expert.

Though the charter of the 16-year-old body prohibits raising any bilateral and contentious issues during the summit, analysts say one-to-one meetings between heads of states or governments in the region have helped in easing tensions. But indications are that the summit this time would be held under circumstances that can be termed anything but friendly.

Last Thursday, India made it clear that there will be no one-to-one meeting between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the Kathmandu summit. "The question of talking to Pakistan given its attitude and unresponsiveness in taking action against terrorist groups operating from its soil against India really doesn't arise," an Indian Foreign Ministry official said in New Delhi.

Nepali officials have, however, said bilateral tensions would not affect the summit as it has its own regional agenda. "We are happy that the SAARC process is being resumed after a gap of nearly three years," said Dr. Thapa. Dr. Lohani added: "The Kathmandu summit will prove to be a milestone in reactivating the SAARC process and further enhancing goodwill, mutual trust and understanding among member states to ensure continued peace, progress and stability in the region."

According to officials, the summit is expected to endorse regional agreements on poverty alleviation, terrorism and trade. Preparations are also on to sign regional conventions on prevention of trafficking of women and children and on the welfare of children.

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh has said Myanmar and Afghanistan should also be invited to join the seven-member regional body. With the new interim government in place, war-torn Afghanistan might as well need a regional forum to air its views.

Though it will take a few more summits to welcome new members, SAARC could do well by accelerating economic cooperation within the region. The agreement on South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangements (SAPTA) came into force in December 1995 so as to promote intra-regional trade substantially. But this arrangement still doesn't cover large part of the regional trade.

The proposal to declare South Asia as free trade areas by 2001 also needs to be reconsidered and revised so as to give more time to the member states for preparation. "SAFTA (South Asia Free Trading Agreement) is very much required to reduce the present tension between the two South Asian powers. Political relations will certainly change for the better after economic cooperation is strengthened," said Dr. Posh Raj Pandey, an economist. "Economic cooperation is the only way to defuse the Indo-Pak conflict."