Wednesday, Nov 06, 2002
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
A Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Islamabad had been following the "misleading statements" from India at various levels, blaming his country for the lack of "substantive progress" in economic cooperation under SAARC. India and Pakistan have been sparring over the issue ever since the SAARC Foreign Ministers met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. Islamabad claims that it had proposed January 11 to 13 as the dates for summit and the SAARC Foreign Ministers had agreed to get back to the SAARC Secretariat by September 23. India has contested the claim and maintained that though the issue came up for discussion at New York, there was no agreement. Some days later it took the stand that a SAARC summit without substantive progress on the economic agenda — agreed to at the Kathmandu Summit and the Foreign Ministers meeting in August — would be a meaningless exercise. The Pakistan Foreign Office said the latest in these series of "concoctions" was a comment by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman suggesting that the recently-concluded SAPTA meeting in Kathmandu failed to make any headway because of Pakistan's attitude. He said the Indian statements needed to be seen in the backdrop of the conflicting claims being made by India on the dates of the coming summit in Islamabad and their participation. "Pakistan constructively participated in the three back-to-back SAARC meetings dealing with economic issues, held in Kathmandu from October 26 to November 1." He claimed that the meetings included the 11th meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation (CEC), the second meeting of the Committee of Experts on Drafting a Comprehensive Treaty Regime for a South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the second meeting to conclude the fourth round of Trade Liberalisation Negotiations under SAPTA. "It is strange for India to accuse Pakistan of impeding the progress when the only stalemates during the three meetings were caused by India," he said. In the CEC meeting, the Pakistan spokesman claimed, India developed "major differences" with the least-developed countries on the scale and extent of special and differential treatment to be extended to them under SAPTA. "The deadlock was resolved through the efforts of the leader of the Pakistan delegation. This was appreciated by all the member States, including India," he said. In the SAPTA meeting, he alleged, despite India's effort to bring in extraneous bilateral elements, such as the question of a most-favoured nation status, Pakistan acted responsibly and made a substantive offer of tariff concessions on a number of lines identified by India. This offer was motivated by a genuine desire to undertake meaningful economic cooperation under SAARC and to ensure a successful conclusion of the SAPTA meeting. "India, however, refused to present its list of concessions to Pakistan as per the agreed agenda." The spokesman said Pakistan was committed to strengthening the SAARC and to deepen cooperation amongst all member States, including in the field of economic cooperation. "Successful and mutually satisfactory exchange of tariff concessions with all other member States, except India, during the recently-concluded SAPTA meeting is reflective of Pakistan's resolve to see SAARC emerge as the key forum for regional cooperation," he said. On the other hand, he charged, India's reluctance to deal with Pakistan under the SAARC framework and its suggestion during the SAPTA meeting to handle economic issues bilaterally or under other forums was a manifestation of their desire to scuttle the SAARC process which, in any case, remained suspended for close to three years because of Indian intransigence. "The Indian Government's obduracy in SAARC meetings and its whimsical attitude towards the association also betray its policy to impose India's political and economic hegemony in South Asia."
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