By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, Aug 27 – Even as India continues to turn a cold-shoulder to the member nations’ efforts to host the long overdue meeting of the seven South Asian neighbours, a former SAARC secretary general today called on South Asian nations to go ahead with the SAARC.
“SAARC had already gone a long way,” Former SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Secretary General Yadav Kanta Silwal said here today. “The regional grouping was about to hold dialogue with China, the emerging superpower. But it got postponed unfortunately. We kept mum and did not raise any voice, which was wrong.”
The 11th SAARC Summit, which was slated to be held in Kathmandu in November last year, could not take place after India, the regional superpower, proposed the postponement following a military coup in Pakistan.
India has not yet agreed on reviving the Summit, reports said. According to Indian newspapers, India has again cold-shouldered Bangladesh’s efforts to host the long overdue Summit.
“Bangladesh foreign secretary, who went to India as the special envoy of Prime Minister Hasina Wajed last week, left without any assurance from India that it would agree to the Summit and had given up its long-standing objections to the military regime in Pakistan,” The Asian Age said on Friday.
“The special envoy, however, is reported to have received a more positive response from Pakistan’s Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf, who has been actively advocating for the SAARC meeting,” the paper added.
Silwal neverthless said that Nepal should go ahead with frequent bilateral dialogues with China, Nepal’s immediate northern neighbour, so as to develop mutual cooperation and understanding which, he added, are prerequisites of good Sino-Nepal trade and ties.
“We are working very casually and in an ad-hoc manner (in this direction),” he said, pointing out the need of “serious efforts”. “This tendency should change for good,” he added.
He was speaking at an interaction programme organised here Sunday by the Nine Left Group to review Prime Minister’s August 1-6 India visit.
Dwelling on the outcomes of Prime Minster’s recent India visit, Silwal said no substantial outcomes have been achieved by Nepal, adding that the 1950 Treaty should be reviewed.
CPN-ML Leader Hiranya Lal Shrestha blamed Prime Minister Koirala of failing to forward the Treaty review process which was already under discussion at the foreign ministerial level during the visit. “He (PM Koirala), instead of climbing to the third storey from second, climbed down to the first storey,” he said.
He added, “What we have been objecting in the Treaty (signed by then Prime Minister Mohan SJB Rana) is that Nepal should tie-up with India when it comes to security concerns. Nepal cannot remain under India’s security for ever. Rather we should be able to tell them that we maintain equi-proximity with each of our three giant neighbours–China, India and Pakistan.”
The former chairman of parliamentary committee on human rights and foreign affairs reiterated that the 1700-km Nepal-India border should first be properly demarcated and regulated as India has perceived security threats from the porous border.
“We do understand that they are sensitive to security,” he said. “That is why the government should work towards regulating the open border, and introducing passport system for the Indians visiting Nepal.”