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Chapter 1

Evolving role of SAARC

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a regional grouping comprising of eight states-

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. Nine Countries, Australia,

China, European Union, Iran, Japan, Myanmar, Mauritius, South Korea and U.SA hold Observer status.1

SAARC is a manifestation of the determination of the peoples of South Asia to work together

towards finding solutions to their common problems in a spirit of friendship, trust and

understanding and to create an order based on mutual respect, equity and shared benefits. The

main goal of the Association is to accelerate the process of economic and social development in

member states, through joint action in the agreed areas of cooperation.

The idea of regional cooperation was first mooted in November 1980,2

when Bangladesh

proposed to institutionalize regional cooperation. SAARC was finally established on December

7-8, 1985, at the First SAARC Summit at Dhaka,3

after four years of consultations among the

member countries. The establishment of SAARC reflected the shared desire of the people of

South Asia, to overcome multi-faceted common economic problems of the region through

mutual cooperation. The primary objective of SAARC, as stated in its charter, was to promote

the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life.4

To achieve this goal,

the charter called for endeavors; to accelerate economic growth, social programs and cultural

development in the region; to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance; to contribute to

mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one anothers problems and to promote active

1Madhavi Bhasin, SAARC I Evolution, athttp://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/05/04/saarc-i-evolution/,accessed on 02-07-

20122Pakistan and SAARC, atwww.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/pages/article.aspx?id=16&type=4 accessed on 03-07-20123 ibid4 ibid
http://www.saarc-sec.org/http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/05/04/saarc-i-evolution/,accessedhttp://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/05/04/saarc-i-evolution/,accessedhttp://www.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/pages/article.aspx?id=16&type=4http://www.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/pages/article.aspx?id=16&type=4http://www.mofa.gov.pk/mfa/pages/article.aspx?id=16&type=4http://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2010/05/04/saarc-i-evolution/,accessedhttp://www.saarc-sec.org/

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collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific

fields.5

Almost sixteen years have passed since the inception of SAARC. Though this time frame for

attaining maturity for any regional organization is not much, nonetheless the performance of

SAARC is generally viewed as far below its existing potential and the expectations of the masses

of the region. A major explanation in this regard lies in the fact that the relationship among the

member states has often been marked by mistrust, misunderstanding and even hostility. Since

India alone adjoins all SAARC members and has common borders with them, all bilateral

disputes are only between India and its neighbours.6

In the last fifty years, India and Pakistan

have fought three bloody wars, two of them over Kashmir, which remain unresolved even today.

There are outstanding bilateral problems, which essentially need a political response, such as

those that exist between Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal with India.7

Article X (2) of the

SAARC Charter does not allow bringing bilateral contentious issues under discussion, therefore

leaving no room for any political dialogue for improvement in overall political environment

through this regional organization.8

SAARC was created in an environment of mistrust and reveals unstated apprehensions regarding

the formation of a regional grouping, within the member countries. Each member had some

specific expectations from the organization in line with its individual national agendas.9

For

example, India the largest country in the region, was apprehensive in joining the organisation on

5 ibid6Dr. Subramanian Swamy, SAARC in the New Millennium, Foundation for Research on International Environment press,New Delhi, India, 2001, p. 747 ibid8 ibid9S. M. Ikram Ullah, The Role of SAARC in Achieving Political and Economic Stability and Cultural Development, SouthAsian Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, July 1999, p. 39.

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grounds that Bangladesh may have been pushing the idea on behest of the US to counter the

former Soviet Unions influence in the region. At the time of SAARCs inception, the two

superpowers were fiercely engaged in the Afghan conflict. India was an ally of the former Soviet

Union, which had invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Pakistan was an active ally of Washington and a

front line state in the US proxy war against Moscow. Therefore, Indian apprehensions were not

totally groundless. India also believed that this forum would be used by the smaller states of the

region to gang up against India and collectively they could undermine Indian regional and

strategic interests.10

All the states bordering India have bilateral problems with it, of different

magnitude and nature. India joined the grouping reluctantly because it did not want to be seen as

a stumbling block towards regional cooperation and integration. And also, did not want to be

isolated from the regional grouping.11Therefore, in view of its apprehensions, it was on Indias

insistence that two principles were accepted as a condition for Indias joining the association;

one, that the organization would not discuss contentious bilateral political issues and two, that all

the decisions would be taken on the basis of unanimity.12The principle of no discussion on

bilateral issues has influenced negatively the dynamics of regional cooperation, thus reducing

the effectiveness of SAARC as a viable vehicle for economic progress and regional integration.

According to J.N. Dixit, former foreign secretary of India, India initially was not at all serious

about SAARC. Only after the sixth summit, which was held in Colombo in 1991, did New Delhi

start to take the grouping seriously.13

On the part of Pakistan, there were apprehensions in the minds of the then policy makers that this

forum may further Indias hegemonistic designs for the region in an institutionalised manner, and

10 ibid11Kamal Thapa, SAARC at the Crossroads, Spotlight Weekly, Vol. 20, No. 22, December 15-21, 2000.atqbase.co.in/pu/sites/default/files/ijsas09032011.pdf, accessed on 04-07-201212 ibid13 ibid

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may become detrimental to Pakistans vital national interests.The smaller countries of the region

sought to address, through this forum, concerns regarding their economic and security interests.

The smaller states of South Asia, at that time, were finding it extremely difficult to secure their

political and economic interests vis--vis India, at bilateral levels. Further, it was expected by the

smaller states that in a multi-lateral framework they would be able to have a voice in South

Asian affairs.14

Therefore, there was a desire on the part of the smaller states to create a regional

forum similar to ASEAN and the European Community, to deal on equitable terms with the

bigger states in the region.

It is clear that the underlying motives of all the South Asian states to enter into a regional

cooperation framework were essentially political in nature.15 However, the stated objectives of

the creation of SAARC had to do more with the socio-economic cooperation than addressing

political issues. There is a general perception that, over the years, in South Asia the outstanding

bilateral contentious issues are the basic hurdles in establishing mutual trust among the members

of SAARC.16

There can be no substantial progress in any field unless cooperation is based on

sincerity and trust. And trust can only be developed in the region when bilateral disputes are

satisfactorily resolved, or there are sustained conflict resolution efforts. Currently, the pressure to

include bilateral, contentious political issues in SAARC deliberations is increasing with the

passage of time, which have never allowed SAARC to take off. Mahendra P. Lama, Associate

Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University writes:

14 ibid15Mahendra P. Lama, SAARC: Shallow Regionalism, Political Abstinence and Economic Advocacy, BIISS, Vol. 21, No. 1,2000, p. 9.16 ibid

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Indias quiet but shrewd diplomatic maneuverings to keep away the political issues from the

SAARC forum have always been in stark contrast to Pakistans obsession to raise such issues.

Over the years, Pakistan has been able to galvanize and garner some sustained support in this

regard from at least some of the member countries Unlike the argument that once political issues

are brought to the SAARC forum, it may totally be mesmerized by and submerged into petty

political scoring, there are fresh and newer arguments emerging against such thinking. In other

words, the urgent need and usefulness of raising political issues in the SAARC forum have

started finding favor among a significant portion of the South Asian elite that include politicians,

economic stake holders, former diplomats, bureaucrats and academics. Their main contention has

been that by constantly evading political issues, SAARC has pushed itself to a farcical corner

and rendered itself as an unrealistic and disoriented forum. In this context, the 11th Summit

would have been a watershed. The ball has been set rolling by the Sri Lankan President

Chandrika Kumaratunga who spoke at length about the inevitability of gradually inserting

political issues in the SAARC discussion forum in the last 10th Summit in Colombo.17

There is a consensus among all members of SAARC, except India, to include bilateral

contentious issues on the SAARC agenda, at least at the level of summit and foreign ministers

meetings. Only India is averse to this idea and seeks the resolution of such issues on a bilateral

basis. In this regard, the Indian former Prime Minister I. K. Gujral, when he was the foreign

minister, introduced a five-point doctrine, generally known as the Gujral Doctrine, to deal with

its neighbours.18 This doctrine spells out the underlying apprehensions of India its neighbours

and reveals its desire to dominate, a concept resisted by all other countries. However, in practice

the political developments in South Asia demonstrate, flagrant violations of these principles by

17 ibid18 ibid

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India and its unwillingness to solve bilateral issues with its smaller neighbours in adherence with

these principles. Also, India is adamant against a third party for mediation in complex and

contentious issues like Kashmir, which can not be solved bilaterally, given the historical

experiences and inflexible positions of the countries involved. 19 This approach towards

resolution of bilateral problems has adversely affected creation of an environment conducive for

regional cooperation.

Moreover, the Gujral Doctrine supported the creation of sub-regional groupings such as the

proposed growth quadrangle in South Asia, comprising India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan,

while excluding Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the two countries with which it has the most serious

problems.20 Such short-sighted proposals have created a feeling of discomfort, in the countries

being excluded from the groupings. For example, Professor Kanti Bajpai of the JNU, opined that

what sub-regional grouping intended to do could be done bilaterally. He was of the view that

floating of the new sub-structure in SAARC would alienate Sri Lanka and Pakistan.21

Indias

persistent efforts in seeking Pakistans isolation by initiating such propositions has seriously

undermined SAARC and regional cooperation.22

Yet another example of such contradictory behaviour of India is that, the 11th SAARC Summit

scheduled in Katmandu in December 1999, was abruptly put off on the insistence of India that it

would not share the platform with General Pervez Musharraf, who toppled the elected

government in Pakistan in October 1999.23

It may be recalled here that, at the time SAARC was

created, General Hussain Mohammad Irshad and General Zia-ul-Haq were the rulers of

19MD Nuruzzaman, SAARC and sub-regional cooperation: domestic politics and foreign policies in South Asia,Contemporary South Asia, Vol. 8, No. 3, November 1999. p.319.20 ibid21 ibid22 ibid23Reschedule SAARC summit, The Kathmandu Post, December 14, 2000.

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Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively. Never before did India have any problems dealing with

military regimes at the SAARC forum. Interestingly, later, General Pervez Musharraf was

extended an invited by the Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee to visit Delhi and Agra in June 2001,

for a summit.24 A Nepalese newspaper editorial, while commenting on the postponement of the

summit note:

The Indian governments stand on this issue appears more than dubious. If it were that zealous

to reinstate democracy, then why has India been maintaining a deafening silence in the case of

Bhutan and Maldives? This inconsistent approach towards its neighbouring countries only

speaks about Indias calculated move to intensify its age-old enmity with Pakistan. Despite the

huge outcry from other countries, India is sticking to its guns, putting South Asias regional

meeting in a state of doldrums. The postponement of the summit is likely to have debilitating

effects on the regions trade and commerce. More than anything else, bilateral differences

between India and Pakistan have stalled the summit indefinitely. This is by no means justified,

since neither India nor any SAARC member has the right to jeopardize the future of this regional

grouping.25

Indian Prime Minister Vajapyee himself said, while giving his inaugural address at the 10th

SAARC Summit, that all governments should ensure that there are no delays in the SAARC

process and that agreed time-tables for our various programmes are adhered to.26

The sheer fact

is that the postponement of the 11th SAARC Summit had an adverse impact on furthering the

agenda of SAARC. Such inconsistent attitudes by some members have achieved nothing but

crippling the SAARC as a viable regional organisation.

24 ibid25 ibid26Attempts at Regional Cooperation in South Asia, World Affairs, Vol. 3, No. 1, January-March 1999, pp.19-20

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Notwithstanding the snail pace progress of SAARC and the political realities it has been

confronted with since its inception, it has emerged as the only forum in the South Asian context,

where the leaders of the member countries are brought together, despite their intense political

inhibitions and insurmountable national reservations on certain political issues. 27 SAARC

provides a unique opportunity for informal bilateral discussions among the leaders and officials

of member states on the sidelines.28

While commenting on the sidelines mechanism of

discussions, SAARC Secretary General Nihal Rodrigo said:

The Male Summit can be viewed as a landmark in that the heads of state/ government

recognised that the promotion of peace, stability and amity, and accelerated socio-economic

cooperation may best be achieved by fostering good-neighbourly relations, relieving tensions and

building confidence, and agreed that a process of informal political consultations would prove

useful in this regard. There is of course no formal institutionalised process for discussion of

bilateral political disputes among member states within the existing framework of SAARC. The

SAARC Charter very clearly precludes discussion of what the Charter describes as bilateral and

contentious issues. However, political discussions do take place, including on some bilateral

issues, but this is between the countries directly concerned, informally and on the fringes of

summits and council meetings. These discussions are, of course, not part of the Agenda of

SAARC meetings and collective discussions of these issues, i.e., where all member states

formally debate them, do not take place.29

Thus, these sideline meetings facilitate a deepening of the understanding of the contentious

issues in an informal manner and at times has proved to be helpful in critical decision-making.

27 ibid28 ibid29 ibid

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For example, the understanding reached at the 10th SAARC Summit in Colombo, between India

and Pakistan, greatly reduced tension between the two countries, which had been heightened

after the nuclear explosions by both the countries in May 1998, and facilitated the signing of

Lahore Declaration in February 1999.30

The other achievement of SAARC, worth mentioning and which has indirectly affected the

political climate of South Asia, is that it has significantly contributed in bridging the gap among

the non-state actors and civil-societies of the regional countries. While SAARC is a government-

led organisation, in recent years, following summit directions, SAARC has helped facilitate

greater involvement and interaction among representatives of civil society throughout the

region.31 SAARC has been successful in putting in place schemes designed for the promotion of

people-to-people contact, such as, the SAARC Audio-Visual Exchange Program, the SAARC

chairs, fellowships and scholarships, SAARC Volunteer Exchange program etc. it has also

helped to bring the private sector of South Asia together, by linking the national Chambers of

Commerce and Industries into an apex SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industries, which

provides pertinent practical inputs to the Associations economic agenda. SAARC has

encouraged and recognised a number of professional groups and specialists in different

fields.32Efforts to reconvene the 11th SAARC Summit have been initiated by the Citizens

Commission for South Asia (CCSA). The first meeting of the Commission was held in

December 2000, in Kathmandu, where former Prime Minister of India I.K. Gujral had also taken

part.33 The activism on the part of the non-governmental actors and members of the civil society

30 Mahendra P. Lama, op. cit. p.231Nihal Rodrigo, Secretary General SAARC, Popular perception about SAARC oscillates betweentwo extremes, The WeeklyTelegraph, Kathmandu, at http://www.telegraphnepal.com/headline/2011-11-04/expand-and-strengthen-the-saarc-regional-body:-sa-experts-at-nepal-seminar,accessed on 04-07-201232 ibid33Dr. Shireen M. Mazari, SAARC: The Security Route to Regeneration, Strategic Studies, Vol. XX, No. 4, Autumn 2000,p.7
http://www.telegraphnepal.com/headline/2011-11-04/expand-and-strengthen-the-saarc-regional-body:-sa-experts-at-nepal-seminar,accessedhttp://www.telegraphnepal.com/headline/2011-11-04/expand-and-strengthen-the-saarc-regional-body:-sa-experts-at-nepal-seminar,accessedhttp://www.telegraphnepal.com/headline/2011-11-04/expand-and-strengthen-the-saarc-regional-body:-sa-experts-at-nepal-seminar,accessedhttp://www.telegraphnepal.com/headline/2011-11-04/expand-and-strengthen-the-saarc-regional-body:-sa-experts-at-nepal-seminar,accessed

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is reflective of the fact that these groups can contribute positively towards regional cooperation

by influencing their respective governments. This is an encouraging trend growing under the

umbrella of SAARC, which, given bilateral tensions, would not have been possible otherwise.

Since the May 1998 nuclear tests by India and Pakistan, a new dimension has been added to the

South Asian security milieu, which needs immediate attention of all the regional states. With

their nuclear and missile capabilities, both India and Pakistan must consider the security

requirements of the whole region, as any nuclear exchange in the wake of a war, or accident may

impact directly or indirectly on the other neighbouring countries.34 Dr. Shireen M. Mazari while

pointing to the new realities of the region has said that, there is an urgent need to restructure and

enlarge the scope of SAARC; and both India and Pakistan need to recognise that in order to

attain regional nuclear stability, they will have to have a SAARC component to any mutual

stability regime. Pakistan is said to be looking for a breakthrough on the Kashmir stalemate with

India, through third party mediation. Now, while the Indians would be unwilling to US

intervention with all the power politics that involves and with the UN seeming to opt for a

strangely low key sideline posture, SAARC would seem to be the natural third party to

intervene.35

With sixteen Summits, a host of cooperation programs, Regional Conventions on a variety issues

ranging from terrorism to narcotics, initiation of a free trade area, agreement on a social charter

and opening of permanent membership for Afghanistan and observer status for other countries,36

SAARC has recently witnessed an eventual adolescence. But the process of regional

consolidation has not been without challenges. Several deferred summits, limited intra-regional

34 ibid35 ibid36 Madhavi Bhasin, op.cit

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trade, continued Indo-Pakistan tensions, incomplete national integration process, reversal of

democratic process in most countries, perceived role of extra-regional actors and the continued

threat of terrorism and intra-regional security threats demonstrate the multiple challenges yet

awaiting regional agreement and response.

After four rounds of trade negotiations, the SAARC members concluded a preferential trading

agreement in 2002, referred to as SAPTA (South Asian Preferential Trading Agreement).

Framework37

Agreement for free trade SAFTA was signed in 2004, yet to be fully implemented.

According to Dr Saman Kelegama is the Executive Director, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri

Lanka, the signing of SAFTA was in itself an achievement.38

SAARC Regional Convention on

Suppression of Terrorism was signed in 1987 and came into force in 1988 following its

ratification by all Member States. A Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk was established in 1995

in Colombo to support the implementation of the convention by collecting, assessing and

disseminating information on terrorist offences, tactics, strategies and methods. An Additional

Protocol to the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism was signed in 2002

but which came into force on 12 January 2006 following ratification by all Member States.39

Finally a Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters was signed in August

2008 but has yet to come into force pending ratification by all Member States.

Conventions have also been signed in other areas including Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic

Substances, Trafficking in Women and Children, and Child Welfare in South Asia. An

Agreement on Food Security Reserve is also in place. A Natural Disaster Rapid Response

Mechanism has been created to adopt a coordinated and planned approach to deal with natural

http://www.saarc-sec.org/areaofcooperation/detail.php?activity_id=4http://www.saarc-sec.org/userfiles/saftaagreement.pdfhttp://www.saarc-sec.org/userfiles/Various%20Publications,%20Agreements,MOUs,%20%20Conventions.%20Charters/PUBLICATIONS/Pdf/SAARC%20REGIONAL%20CONVENTION%20ON%20SUPPRESSION%20OF%20TERRORISM.pdfhttp://www.saarc-sec.org/userfiles/Various%20Publications,%20Agreements,MOUs,%20%20Conventions.%20Charters/PUBLICATIONS/Pdf/SAARC%20REGIONAL%20CONVENTION%20ON%20SUPPRESSION%20OF%20TERRORISM.pdfhttp://www.saarc-sec.org/userfiles/Various%20Publications,%20Agreements,MOUs,%20%20Conventions.%20Charters/PUBLICATIONS/Pdf/SAARC%20REGIONAL%20CONVENTION%20ON%20SUPPRESSION%20OF%20TERRORISM.pdfhttp://www.saarc-sec.org/userfiles/Various%20Publications,%20Agreements,MOUs,%20%20Conventions.%20Charters/PUBLICATIONS/Pdf/SAARC%20REGIONAL%20CONVENTION%20ON%20SUPPRESSION%20OF%20TERRORISM.pdfhttp://www.saarc-sec.org/userfiles/saftaagreement.pdfhttp://www.saarc-sec.org/areaofcooperation/detail.php?activity_id=4

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disasters under the aegis of the SAARC Disaster Management Centre.40

An inter-ministerial

agreement was signed for the establishment of the South Asian University during the 14th

SAARC Summit, in New Delhi, 04 April 2007.41

The South Asian University (SAU) is

envisioned as an institution that will advance a sense of South Asian community within the

region by bringing together the future generation of students in the pursuit of academic

excellence as they prepare for the challenges of the new millennium. SAARC Social Charter was

signed at the 12th Summit in 2004. 42 Issues covered under the Charter, such as poverty

alleviation, population stabilization, empowerment of women, youth mobilization, human

resource development, promotion of health and nutrition and protection of children are central to

the welfare and well being of all South Asians. These are just a few areas where SAARC has

succeeded in bringing the South Asian states together.

In 25 years SAARC has evolved several institutional arrangements and agreements to deal with

regional issues; the framework of cooperation exists in theory. Genuine activation and

implementation of these agreements requires political will on the part of national leaders.

SAARC as an institution cannot be termed as a failure; it provides the South Asian states with

the opportunity to discuss common problems and coordinate the resolution process. National

anxieties and rivalries have disallowed SAARC from promoting deeper regional cooperation.

Member states have failed SAARC rather than vice-versa.

http://www.southasianuniversity.org/administration.htmlhttp://www.slmfa.gov.lk/saarc/images/charters/saarc_social_charter_2004.pdfhttp://www.slmfa.gov.lk/saarc/images/charters/saarc_social_charter_2004.pdfhttp://www.southasianuniversity.org/administration.html

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