The Saarc factor

Saarc is being held hostage due to non-settlement of contentious issues between its member states

With the postponed Saarc Summit in imminent danger of being scuttled, it may be in order to look over the shoulder and gauge this regional organisation’s record of success, or, what is more in evidence, failure. The writing on the wall that stares all Saarc states in the face is that this grouping has singularly failed to live up to its promise.

This is the era of ‘regional organisational’ politics, or so one was led to believe. Why the organisations that Pakistan belongs have not taken off the ground? Does the fault lie with us or the fact that this happens to be an accident-prone region?

A look over the shoulder may be in order. One recalls that when India announced its donation for flood relief in Pakistan several years ago, it was done on a bilateral basis. Since this was given out as humanitarian gesture, it could have been accepted at face value. The fact that a response was delayed allowed interested parties to play politics with the issue. In this context, it must be added that all unsavoury controversy could have been avoided if the Indian offer had come under the Saarc auspices but this was not to be.

What can one say about an organisation, summit after summit of which is over-shadowed by the prospect of sidelines meeting between two of its member states?

Looking at some past Saarc summits, should the members not have bent their energies to issues of vital concern to the region as a whole? It is true that references to bilateral issues are discouraged. But, then, there are several issues that are no longer of purely bilateral concern. The issues of 1) natural disasters; (2) apportionment of waters; 3) sharing of energy resources; 4) preservation of the environment; 5) education for all; 6) poverty alleviation are, or at least should be, of common concern.

Some issues of common concern stand out as more pertinent than others; among them:

No member state of Saarc should have the licence to squeeze the water supply of another member. Pakistan and Bangladesh have had water issues with India for quite some time. Should Saarc have allowed such a vital matter to be swept under the proverbial rug on the excuse that it is a ‘bilateral issue’? Now that Afghanistan has been admitted as a member, it would need to be ensured that flows of waters of the Kabul River should be regulated.

Despite proforma agreements, commerce and trade among member states within the Saarc region is hardly anything to write home about. A comparison with other regional groupings — such as Asean — shows up Saarc in very poor light indeed. Conservation of the environment is another matter of common concern. To take just two examples: the Siachen stand-off between Pakistan and India threatens an ecological disaster of gigantic proportions. The Maldives and Bangladesh face a serious global warming threat. Should Saarc not take notice?

All in all, Saarc is being held hostage by tensions created due to the non-settlement of the contentious issues between its member states. A regional organisation cannot be divorced from the fallout due to bilateral stresses and strains between members. India and Pakistan bear responsibility for the stupor that Saarc finds itself in at this period in time. The onus of pulling the organisation out of the quagmire in which it finds itself also rests with them.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.