India’s SAARC dilemma
NEW DELHI: At the end of April, India reiterated that it did not believe that the atmosphere was “conducive” to hold the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit. The SAARC has had a long and complex history, laced with more failures than successes. When it was first set up in 1985, India was skeptical and saw it a platform where the smaller neighbours could potentially gang up against India. But sometime in the early 2000s, there was a shift in the Indian attitude towards the region.
As its global ambitions grew, India recognised that a peaceful periphery and greater regional economic integration were essential. SAARC could be an instrument to achieve these goals, it felt. And New Delhi thus invested more political attention and energy, along with making unilateral commitments.
But bilateral disputes -particularly between India and Pakistan -- have always struck and impeded the growth of the organisation. Given that SAARC operates on the principle of unanimity, even if one member decides issue of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan persisted, and till this was resolved, Indian officials argued, participating in the summit, to be held in Pakistan, was not possible. The Indian policy stand has once again stirred up a debate on both the utility and relevance of SAARC and New Delhi’s approach to it. that they would not participate in the summit, it stands cancelled. India exercised this right at the end of 2016, when after a militant attack on Uri, for which it held Pakistan responsible, New Delhi pulled out of the summit.
Bangladesh cited Pakistan’s interference in its domestic politics, Afghanistan cited increased level of violence and terrorism, and Bhutan said it shared concerns of other states on terror. The summit was eventually cancelled. It has not been held since. India’s decision to maintain its stance comes in the backdrop of Pakistan’s intensified diplomacy.
Last time, Islamabad was caught on the defensive as other states bandwagoned with India. To prevent such a scenario, Pakistan has been reaching out to other neighbours. Its prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, visited Nepal,which remains the SAARC chair since the summit was last held in Kathmandu in 2014. Islamabad hosted the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena recently and its army chief visited Maldives. Nepal’s prime minister KP Oli, too, emphasised the importance of reviving SAARC.
With New Delhi being adamant, these efforts seem set to fail. It is unlikely that the SAARC summit will now be held till at least till the 2019 general elections, which would mean that for close to five years the organisation’s leaders would not have met.