SAARC moot: Understanding with India on Siachen, Sir Creek, says Iqbal

Says only Indian establishment was a hurdle in signing of a deal.

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal claimed on Monday that India’s security establishment did not allow New Delhi to sign a deal on demilitarization in Siachen.

Speaking at the 29th Charter Day of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on Monday, Iqbal said Pakistan and India’s governments have reached an understanding with regards to Siachen and Sir Creek. New Delhi’s High Commissioner to Islamabad TC Raghavan was also present at the conference.

Iqbal’s comments followed an outcry by the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz that the Indian presence in Siachen was damaging Pakistan’s largest water resource and creating environmental problems.



“The new Indian government will have to break the deadlock, taking steps towards a deal on Siachen while also easing restrictions on either country’s citizens,” said Iqbal, adding that if progress on relations between the two countries was stalled, the whole South Asian region would be affected. Iqbal said Pakistan had taken steps over the last decade to improve relations with India, such as offering flights to India via Pakistan International Airlines, while New Delhi did not reciprocate the gesture. India’s visa restrictions only hindered tourists, Iqbal added, saying ‘terrorists do not need visas to cross borders.’ Iqbal said India granted Pakistan Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status in 1996 but Pakistani exports to India remained negligible, showing the adverse impact of non-tariff-barriers imposed by New Delhi. On the lingering issue of granting India MFN status, Iqbal commented, ‘If MFN has had any positive impact on bilateral trade, Pakistan’s exports to India should have been $2 billion per annum.’

Pakistan’s political parties refrained from verbal attacks on Indian politicians during the elections this year, according to Iqbal, who said the Indian media and political parties needed to reciprocate this behaviour before and after general elections in the country in 2014.

Speaking on the occasion, Indian High Commissioner Raghavan said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statements regarding increased dialogue between India and Pakistan suggested that Pakistan has a vision for regional integration. He reiterated the Indian government’s goal to trade with Central Asia via Pakistan. There is significant trade potential in the south west and south east of the South Asia region, which could be achieved through better connectivity through rail, road and air networks, said Raghavan.

Iqbal acknowledged that following 17 summit meetings and 37 ministerial meetings, Saarc is becoming just a forum for holding meetings with limited results while a written statement by Saarc Secretary General Ahmad Saleem, read out at the conference, urged member countries to strengthen the Saarc secretariat and regional offices while also doing more to fulfill the objectives of setting up the regional bloc.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2013.