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Saarc and Pakistan

12 July 2005, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Saquib Ahmed, On e-mail
12 July 2005, 18:00 PM
My letter comes in response to Masood Khan's letter from the US where he states that Pakistan should not join the Saarc because it was co-founded by a Bangladeshi leader. He also stated that he and his family had to flee East Pakistan leaving everything behind during the 1970's. He draws an image as if it was the Pakistanis who were suffering. I would like to remind him that it was the opposite thing, it was because of people like you that we Bangladeshi took to the streets to protect our freedom and rights. And the people of West Pakistan were the ones who benefited by looting our raw materials, which were used to industrialise and modernise Pakistan while we remained in the Middle Ages.

In response to our protests the Pakistanis started the war in which they massacred more than 3 million people and the genocide committed can be ranked within the top ten of the 20th century.

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This is in reference to Mr. Masood Khan's letter (D.S. 04 July). Mr. Khan may have his own negative views regarding Saarc. I would like to add further to his view that Saarc is a failure despite over 20 years of meetings and deliberations. I consider Saarc as nothing but a grand dinner party of heads of states where leaders smile at each other and shake hands with fingers crossed.

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The less we talk about SAPTA and other big dreams of Saarc, the better. Saarc has failed to deliver any benefits to the common people. Today overseas phone calls to Europe, US, Japan, Australia, are much cheaper than making calls to relations and friends in the so-called Saarc countries. This is an example how the Saarc nations have failed to offer the barest minimum benefits to the peoples.

As far as my reading goes, media and people in India and Pakistan are least bothered about Saarc that gets only a lip service.

In my opinion the bilateral agreements that we have with neighbours are far more effective than what Saarc could deliver.

Saarc is "too much ado for nothing".
Ziauddin, On e-mail