Sort out disputes, India, Pakistan told
April 29, 2010 02:23 am
Several leaders of the SAARC countries conveyed to Pakistan
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani during their bilateral meetings with him that
in particular,
The leaders gave the example of India-China ties, which have strengthened in spheres such as trade and cooperation at multilateral fora despite decades-long border dispute.
Pointing out that all eight SAARC leaders were
democratically elected, they wondered why disputes could not be resolved by
sitting across the table and addressing each other’s concerns instead of
allowing the summit to be overshadowed by bilateral disputes. With their “
The leaders acknowledged that more than the two countries, it was the media that raised the prospects of an India-Pakistan summit meeting to a feverish pitch. This pushed to the background the issue of conveying to the people a critical assessment of the progress made by the SAARC and the shortcomings that still remain.
Besides conveying these sentiments to
“As the SAARC strives at intensifying connectivity to draw member states closer for mutual gains, certain wrong-doers and terrorists are out to undo our good intentions and the growing trust among ourselves,” said Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“I hope neighbours can find ways to compartmentalise their
differences while finding ways to move forward…I am, of course, referring to
He said: “We really should move forward. There is so much
real work, economic work that is necessary for the SAARC members. We all need
development. We all need to increase our living standards. We now understand
that it is possible to achieve this in
“In my mind, it is in the interest of all to
compartmentalise our problems, especially the