SAARC’s 19th Summit to be hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad on November 9 is now the target of Indians enraged by the attack on an Indian army camp in Uri Kashmir close to the Indo-Pakistan Line of Control.
India is furious about the Uri attack which left 17 Indian security forces personnel dead and many injured. No time was lost after the attack in blaming Pakistan, in which four unidentified armed attackers entered the presumably high security camp killing and injuring Indian soldiers. Recently a similar attack on an Indian Air Force Camp at Pathankot, also close to the Line of Control, resulted in India accusing Pakistan of being behind the attack.
Ace Indian special force commandos have carried out surgical strikes crossing the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, inflicting significant damage to the terrorist infrastructure across the border. The operation took place on Wednesday past midnight and is now over, Director General of Military Operations Lt General Ranbir Singh told mediapersons in New Delhi. He said he had also informed his Pakistani counterpart of the surgical strikes.
Pakistan has “strongly condemned the unprovoked and naked aggression of Indian forces along the Line of Control”, even as its Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) denied there were any surgical strikes. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement his country could thwart any evil design to undermine its sovereignty. Sharif paid rich tributes to jawans “who have been martyred during unprovoked firing by Indian forces.”
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), established in 1985 at Dhaka with the signing of Dhaka Declaration and adoption of SAARC Charter, owes its birth to the pioneering initiative taken by the Late President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh. SAARC Charter includes a long preamble and ten articles. The very raison d’être of SAARC was to forge cooperation and especially economic cooperation among the member states of South Asia.
The assumption was that a common culture, civilization and heritage among all the seven post colonial states of South Asia would bring about unity and cooperation among them, gradually bringing about social and economic development in the region, and possibly create an integrated market that could remove poverty, illiteracy and unemployment which are some of the common problems and unifying objectives of the South Asian states. It was believed that regional cooperation would bring about economic cooperation despite the political differences existing among them.
Sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence and non-interference in internal affairs are some of the major principles clearly defined in the Charter of SAARC. The SAARC Charter kept bilateral issues out of the purview of the SAARC and emphasized on multilateral cooperation. The member states of SAARC were free to forge any other bilateral and multilateral cooperation as they would deem fit.
But, in actual terms, bilateral disputes have always stymied the prospects of multilateral cooperation through SAARC. The formation of SAARC was a significant development in the direction of regional cooperation. Despite their strong mutual differences and trust deficit, the South Asian states did agree to sign an agreement promoting regional cooperation. But the reality remains that focal points like Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan and India’s water sharing with Bangladesh remain thorns which continue as tension for consolidating relationship among SAARC countries. As long as these issues can’t be resolved recognising each others’ interest — the future for SAARC to become any sort of a meaningful union like the EU remains a shadowy vision. If India can be reasonable to abide by international norms then SAARC has a bright hope for the countries of the region.
India is furious about the Uri attack which left 17 Indian security forces personnel dead and many injured. No time was lost after the attack in blaming Pakistan, in which four unidentified armed attackers entered the presumably high security camp killing and injuring Indian soldiers. Recently a similar attack on an Indian Air Force Camp at Pathankot, also close to the Line of Control, resulted in India accusing Pakistan of being behind the attack.
Ace Indian special force commandos have carried out surgical strikes crossing the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, inflicting significant damage to the terrorist infrastructure across the border. The operation took place on Wednesday past midnight and is now over, Director General of Military Operations Lt General Ranbir Singh told mediapersons in New Delhi. He said he had also informed his Pakistani counterpart of the surgical strikes.
Pakistan has “strongly condemned the unprovoked and naked aggression of Indian forces along the Line of Control”, even as its Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) denied there were any surgical strikes. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement his country could thwart any evil design to undermine its sovereignty. Sharif paid rich tributes to jawans “who have been martyred during unprovoked firing by Indian forces.”
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), established in 1985 at Dhaka with the signing of Dhaka Declaration and adoption of SAARC Charter, owes its birth to the pioneering initiative taken by the Late President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh. SAARC Charter includes a long preamble and ten articles. The very raison d’être of SAARC was to forge cooperation and especially economic cooperation among the member states of South Asia.
The assumption was that a common culture, civilization and heritage among all the seven post colonial states of South Asia would bring about unity and cooperation among them, gradually bringing about social and economic development in the region, and possibly create an integrated market that could remove poverty, illiteracy and unemployment which are some of the common problems and unifying objectives of the South Asian states. It was believed that regional cooperation would bring about economic cooperation despite the political differences existing among them.
Sovereign equality, territorial integrity, political independence and non-interference in internal affairs are some of the major principles clearly defined in the Charter of SAARC. The SAARC Charter kept bilateral issues out of the purview of the SAARC and emphasized on multilateral cooperation. The member states of SAARC were free to forge any other bilateral and multilateral cooperation as they would deem fit.
But, in actual terms, bilateral disputes have always stymied the prospects of multilateral cooperation through SAARC. The formation of SAARC was a significant development in the direction of regional cooperation. Despite their strong mutual differences and trust deficit, the South Asian states did agree to sign an agreement promoting regional cooperation. But the reality remains that focal points like Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan and India’s water sharing with Bangladesh remain thorns which continue as tension for consolidating relationship among SAARC countries. As long as these issues can’t be resolved recognising each others’ interest — the future for SAARC to become any sort of a meaningful union like the EU remains a shadowy vision. If India can be reasonable to abide by international norms then SAARC has a bright hope for the countries of the region.
