Saarc on ventilator
With the US finding it difficult to steer the wheel of the international liberal order, the spirit of global solidarity and cooperation remains on a slippery slope. The US - the architect of this world order - emphasised on globalising the economy, something which the Bretton Woods institutions helped achieve in the previous decades. Today however, as right-wing conservative, hyper-nationalistic politics and populist regimes gain momentum, the international liberal order is under retreat.
Brexit was a critical sign of how integrated regional cooperations such as the EU can dismantle through a referendum. In South Asia, even though it carries potential like no other region, we see how Saarc has remained on a ventilator since its creation. Pakistan and India - being at constant daggers drawn - is one fundamental reason why South Asia is the least integrated region in the world. But today the current geo-political landscape has added more fuel to fire.
India has gone to lengths in a bid to stall Saarc. To undermine the regional organisation, India is now turning to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to alter its foreign policy interest and disregard Pakistan. No surprise that New Delhi has begun to look for alternative “multilateral regional/sub regional organisations” that do not include Pakistan. Being called a “slow boat to nowhere” by Indian strategic analyst C Raja Mohan, chances of Saarc coming back into the spotlight seem remote, especially when Indian ambition to become a regional hegemony looms large in the complexed region.
Kashmir is another bone of contention between India and Pakistan which gives little hope to Saarc’s revival. With Indian brutality and mass violations of basic rights escalating in the vulnerable Kashmiri valley, Pakistan will never sit on the same table with Indian authorities. Kashmir remains the most contentious issue in the South Asian region, which has also led to the cancellation of the 2016 Saarc Summit in Islamabad. No summit has taken place since the Uri attack.
This year, Covid-19 pandemic exposed the existing fault lines in South Asia with collapsing health systems, choking economies, and poverty reaching unprecedented levels. These must act as a wake-up call for the regional countries. It is time for regional solidarity and Saarc is the ideal platform for making regional cooperation a reality.
One simply cannot neglect the trade potential this region carries. According to the World Bank, South Asia’s trade potential currently hovers around $67 billion, almost thrice the current trade of about $23 billion. The Covid-19 crisis has given the region a new window of opportunity for economic independency. Today, through the use of Saarc, South Asian countries now have an opportunity to come together to remove tariffs on medical devices, protective gear and essential products.
With accelerated climate change manifesting, South Asia must focus on a robust regional- level response to curb climate vulnerabilities, where all nations are on the same page. If states are constantly hostile, ecological disruption will gain more momentum and cause damage of unprecedented nature and scale. Only a unified narrative will help mitigate the impacts of ecological disruption.
During the inauguration of the historical Kartarpur Corridor in November 2019, Pakistan’s FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi stated, “If the Berlin Wall could fall and Kartarpur Corridor be opened — the issue of Kashmir can also be solved,” which would mean the end of the Line of Control (LoC). Even though Pakistan’s foreign policy has been ambiguous on multiple occasions, this time, it sent out the right message. The Kartarpur Corridor shows how there are chances of reconciliation between two nuclear-armed archrivals.
With political and economic vulnerabilities looming large and climate trauma becoming ever so prominent, regional solidarity in South Asia is an urgent need. One thing the Covid-19 crisis has taught us that diseases, terrorism and accelerated climate change are all borderless challenges which must be countered in coordinated forums. Today more than ever, Saarc needs a revival.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2020.
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