National 10 (Spotlight Weekly)

The SAARC Option

The smaller nations can play a vital role in defusing regional tensions, experts say

By AKSHAY SHARMA

Can the smaller members of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) do anything to lessen regional tensions created by the rivalry between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan? They can, according to experts at a program organized in the capital this week - and they should begin right now.

For six months, Indian and Pakistani soldiers have stood eyeball to eyeball along the Line of Control in the disputed territory of Kashmir, raising fears of a nuclear war that would take a heavy toll on South Asia. Although the war of words between the two countries has eased following sustained international diplomatic pressure, Kashmir remains one of the most dangerous areas on the planet.

"The Indo-Pak conflict has made the situation in the region very fluid," said Shirish Rana, a political analyst. "As a regional power, India should win the confidence of its neighbors and not suspect them all of conspiring against her."

The relations of other South Asian nations with India should be understood in a different way, Rana noted. "How is India taking the informal meeting on Nepal being hosted by the United Kingdom?" he questioned. Various things should be taken into consideration because India suspects its neighbors more than it trusts them, he added.

Nepalese and Pakistani defense analysts and foreign relations experts stressed the urgent need for both India and Pakistan to defuse the current crisis and to narrow down their differences. The prevailing capricious situation in the South Asian region due to the conflict of the two big members of SAARC has created uncertainty in the region, experts said.

While exchanging views on the prevailing security situation in South Asia, the experts said the two nations should understand the degree of the negative impact the conflict will have on the region. They pointed out that small members of SAARC should play a major role to establish peace in the region.

India should consider all of its neighbors as friends, which would provide a broader base for peace, security and prosperity in the region, they said. Speaking at the talk program, organized by the Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies (NEFAS) in assistance with the Embassy of Pakistan, Dr. Shireen M. Mazari, a prominent Pakistani defense analyst, said, "The precariousness of the security situation in the region after September 11 has increased."

Presenting Pakistan's perspective on security, Dr. Mazari said: "India is only amplifying the tensions in the region. No country should allow state terrorism and any accusations against Pakistan should be proved, because India has been making baseless accusations which will only hurt the whole region."

"My nation always stands against all sorts of terrorism. The dynamics of security after September 11 has changed, and Pakistan's role in battling terrorism has been enhanced in recent days," she said. "Pakistan is clear about its stance on Kashmir and its freedom. However, it does not allow any infiltration into other's territory, as India consistently accuses Pakistan of," Dr. Mazari added.

SAARC should not become the jailbird to the interests of either India or Pakistan, she said. "Therefore, certain reforms should be introduced to the SAARC Charter." Dr. Mazari stressed the need for an exchange of dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the problem.

Pakistani Ambassador Fouzia Nasreen and Professor Anand Aditya said that various dimensions of security in South Asia should be taken into account. From the chair, Dr. Mohan Man Sainju said: "Small nations in the region could also play a vital role to establish peace in South Asia. For Nepal, both India and Pakistan are equal. So we want a peaceful solution to the Indo-Pak crisis." Ananda Shrestha, executive director of NEFAS, said, "Smaller countries of South Asia like Nepal, facing security problems at home, see an urgent need for both India and Pakistan to defuse the present crisis."

"The people of the region are well aware that the Kashmir is a powder-keg can indeed become flashpoint between India and Pakistan with disastrous consequences for the peoples and places of South Asia," Shrestha said. Dr. Mazari addressed another talk program on "Prospects of Peace and Stability in South Asia", organized by the Nepal Council of World Affairs. "South Asia could be a Zero Nuclear Zone if India and Pakistan took the initiative," she said. "There is a big prospect for peace and stability in the region."