INTERIM Chief Advisor of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus has suggested that India suspend certain issues with Pakistan while still advancing with SAARC, describing this as a key policy he intends to follow. He has been quoted as saying that if the European Union can move ahead despite historical divides, why can’t we.
This is indeed a pragmatic approach on SAARC by the leader of a country, which floated the idea of regional cooperation and hosted its first summit expressing commitment to such collaboration. What Yunus said was expected of him as he is not a traditional politician but a technocrat and professional, who prefers thinking in terms of the overall good of the country and the region. The eight-member platform has the potential to help address common challenges of poverty, backwardness, illiteracy and disease besides promoting regional trade to the optimum levels for the common good but its progress is marred by political disputes between Pakistan and India. The Association was suspended for a long time due to the unrealistic attitude of India, which is not even allowing Pakistan to host its summit, strengthening the general impression that the organization exists only on paper. This is despite the fact that the Association was moving steadily towards the goal of effective regional cooperation as also highlighted by the launch of a South Asia Free Trade area back in 2006 but further progress stands blocked due to the intransigent attitude of one member state. We hope the BD leader would go beyond statements and play his role in reactivating the forum.
