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Pakistan accuses India of scuttling SAARC

Pakistan has charged India with scuttling the SAARC process by raising "extraneous" issues and denied that it was responsible for slowing down economic progress in South Asia.

Accusing Indian officials of making conflicting and misleading statements blaming Pakistan for the lack of economic progress made by the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation, a foreign office statement issued in Islamabad on Monday night said that by refusing to deal with Pakistan, India itself had attempted to scuttle the SAARC process.

"India's reluctance to deal with Pakistan under the SAARC framework and their suggestion during the SAPTA [South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement] meeting to handle economic co-operation issues bilaterally or under other forums is 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 statement said.

"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," it added.

Referring to comments by the Indian external affairs ministry spokeswoman suggesting that the recently concluded SAPTA meeting in Kathmandu failed to make headway because of Pakistan's attitude, it said such statements should be seen in the backdrop of the conflicting claims being made by Indians regarding the dates of the forthcoming summit in Islamabad and India's participation in it.

It said Pakistan "constructively" participated in the three back-to-back SAARC meetings dealing with economic issues held in Kathmandu from October 26 to November 1, 2002. These were the eleventh meeting of the Committee on Economic Cooperation, the second meeting of the Committee of Experts on Drafting a Comprehensive Treaty Regime for a South Asian Free Trade Area, 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," the statement said.

"In the CEC meeting, India developed major differences with the Least Developed Countries on the scale and extent of special and differential treatment to be extended to the LDCs 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."

In the SAPTA meeting, it said that despite India's effort to bring in "extraneous bilateral elements" like Pakistan according it 'most favoured nation' status, Pakistan acted "responsibly".

"Pakistan made a substantive offer of tariff concessions on a number of tariff lines identified by India. This offer was motivated by a genuine desire to undertake meaningful economic co-operation under SAARC and to ensure successful conclusion of the SAPTA meeting," it said.

"India, however, refused to present its List of Concessions to Pakistan as per the agreed agenda," the statement added.

The statement said Pakistan remained committed to strengthening SAARC and to deepening co-operation amongst all the member states, including in the field of economic co-operation.

"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 co-operation," it said.

PTI

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