Editorial (Spotlight Weekly)

The eight point resolution passed unanimously by the participants from six countries of the region at the end of the two day seminar on "Security and Cooperation in South Asia" recently is, indeed, a landmark development in the politics of South Asia. Firstly, because it was purely an unofficial conclave, planned and organized by a private media. And secondly, because, the declaration, the first ever of its kind manifested engrossing concern for the hundreds of millions of deprived peoples of the region that are still living in a state of utter misery and privation. Simply because the two bigger nations of South Asia, India and Pakistan, are fighting to control the destiny of the Kashmiri people whose right to freely choose their destiny has been grossly violated been plunged in the whole region has turmoil for more than five long decades. The colossal amount of money spent on their defences and the wars they have fought by these two states could have changed the face of South Asia. Unfortunately, this could not happen and the smaller nations of South Asia are being forced to pay for the sins of the two bigger rivals.

The seminar also laid much emphasis on the active participation of China in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). China has not only contiguous border with four members of the SAARC but, unlike any other country, has excellent friendly and cordial relations with all the smaller nations of the region. If admitted into the SAARC, she would also balance India's imposing domination and put a brake on hijacking of SAARC by India's obduracy. As such, in the overall interest of the upliftment of the region, all member nations of the SAARC must give serious consideration to this matter and raise this issue in the next SAARC summit in Pakistan early next year and open the door for admitting China into the organization.

The suggestion made by the resolution that timely amendments in the SAARC charter to make it more effective seems to be of prime significance. The sad experience of the last eighteen years has proved, beyond a ray of doubt, that the organization is toothless and cannot bite. If SAARC wants to become an effective and living organization, its resolutions must be made mandatory on all members. No nation must be given the privilege to obstruct its functioning and the Secretary General empowered with requisite authority. The charter of the SAARC must be amended to make it more flexible. Since the whole purpose of founding the organization was the speedy overall development of the region, all impediments in the way of achieving those objectives must be removed ruthlessly and expeditiously.

Since the seminar focused on Security and Cooperation in South Asia, it emphasized in both, public deliberations and private discussions, the utter necessity of addressing the root cause of all tensions ñ Kashmir problem without delay. Kashmir problem has not only stood as the Himalayan hurdle against the security and cooperation in South Asia, but, in the changed context, has become the flash point which could embroil the whole region in a nuclear conflagration. Consequently, not only in the interest of the region, but in the interest of peace in the world, the United States can no longer stay as an idle spectator and let the two actors play the drama, which may lead to endless catastrophe. Since this issue has assumed the concern of global proportion, we cannot enjoy the luxury of waiting sine die for it to be solved bilaterally as advocated by one of the belligerents — India. If the United States and the United Nations can violate the sovereignty of smaller nations for the sake of preserving and safeguarding human rights and peace, how long are they going to wait to come to the rescue of the Kashmiri people who are being subjected to inhuman treatment for more than half a century? In the changed context of South Asia, Kashmir can no more remain a local problem, not even a regional one. It has assumed the importance of an international problem. Hence, the imperative necessity of its immediate solution.

On the whole, the two day seminar on Peace and Security in South Asia has not only raised some valid and vital issues but also exhorted all the votaries of peace to give serious considerations to the issues raised by it with the highest priority.