South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation Secretary General Qamar Ahmed Rahim has made it clear that the grouping 'has nothing to do with Kashmir'.

The statement comes amid Pakistan's persistent attempts to broaden the SAARC charter to take up bilateral disputes, mainly the Kashmir problem with India.

"The problem is that people want a solution of Kashmir issue. Everyone wants to know about Kashmir. (But) SAARC has nothing to do with Kashmir, so please don't ask about Kashmir," Rahim, a former Bangladeshi diplomat currently on a visit to Pakistan, told local daily Dawn in an interview.

He described Indo-Pak peace initiatives as 'positive'.

"The SAARC charter excludes bilateral issues from the purview, but in spite of that it is a fact of life that bilateral relations have affected SAARC... therefore we welcome any positive development in bilateral relations between any members of SAARC that eliminates the possibility of friction and makes decision-making easier."          

His comments follow persistent remarks by President  Pervez Musharraf in recent weeks that SAARC should broaden its charter and take up bilateral disputes, which is firmly opposed by India.

Backing the SAARC charter that the forum should strictly confine itself to issues of economic and social development, Rahim said, "Multilateralism and regionalism is the trend of the day. If we miss this opportunity and do not form our own economic regional grouping, then may be we will be marginalised."