Date:10/12/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/12/10/stories/2002121004940100.htm

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Pak. seeks to defer SAARC summit

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD DEC. 9. For the third time since its inception in 1985, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) became victim to Indo-Pak. tensions as Pakistan today formally sought the postponement of the 12th SAARC Summit it had proposed here in the second week of January.

The official announcement by Islamabad, about its communication to the SAARC Secretary-General on its inability to hold the Summit in the absence of confirmation of dates by India and Bhutan, was not unexpected. The postponement has been in the air for several weeks now.

A clear sign that Pakistan was readying to postpone the event was evident when its Foreign Office, on November 29, accused India of putting ``pre-conditions'' for attending the meet. Pakistan asserted that it would not ``countenance'' such moves from any quarters, merely to ensure their participation.

New Delhi raised two arguments as to why it was not enthused over the prospect of another SAARC Summit and that too in Pakistan.

First came the charge that there was little progress on the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) and the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), as was agreed at the last Summit in Kathmandu, due to non-cooperation from Pakistan.

The second argument from the Indian side was that there was little purpose in a meet in Pakistan as long as it did not stop ``cross-border terrorism''. Replying to the first charge, Pakistan maintained that it was committed to pledges made at the last Summit but could not be hustled into trade agreements. It flatly denied the allegations about cross-border infiltration and terrorism.

A Foreign Office spokesman, Kamran Niaz, maintained that the Summit dates were advanced from April to January, on the request of the Indian side, at the meeting of SAARC Council of Ministers at Kathmandu.

He claimed that at the same conference the Ministers had agreed on January 5-20 as the ``band of dates'' within which the Summit may be organised and Pakistan agreed to suggest specific dates.

In the last week of August, Pakistan suggested January 11-13 as the dates. At the informal meeting of SAARC Foreign Ministers on September 16, on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, it was agreed that all member-states should confirm their acceptance of the proposed dates at the earliest.