China, Pakistan mull SAARC alternative

Pakistan and China are working on a proposal to establish a new regional organisation that could potentially replace the now-defunct South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Talks between Islamabad and Beijing are now at an advanced stage as both sides are convinced that a new organisation is essential for regional integration and connectivity. This new organisation could potentially replace the regional bloc SAARC, which comprises India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

A recent trilateral meeting between Pakistan, China and Bangladesh in Kunming, China, was part of those diplomatic manoeuvres, the sources said, adding that its goal was to invite other South Asian countries, which were part of SAARC, to join the new grouping.

However, Bangladesh’s interim government had dismissed the idea of any emerging alliance between Dhaka, Beijing and Islamabad, saying the meeting was not “political”.

According to sources, India would be invited to the new proposed forum, while countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Afghanistan are expected to be part of the grouping.

The main purpose of the new organisation is to seek greater regional engagement through trade and connectivity.

If the proposal is materialised, it would replace the SAARC, which has been suspended for a long time due to the India-Pakistan conflict.

Its biennial summits have not taken place since the last one in Kathmandu in 2014.

The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate.

‘J&K terroism legitimate’

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir has described terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as a “legitimate struggle”, saying his country would always stand by the people of Kashmir in their struggle.

Field Marshal Munir also warned India of a “befitting response” in case of any future attack, weeks after the two nations briefly locked horns in a dangerous conflict.

“What India labels as terrorism is, in fact, a legitimate and lawful struggle for freedom, recognised by international law,” Munir said while addressing a passing out ceremony at Pakistan Naval Academy, Karachi, on Saturday.

“Those who have tried to suppress the Kashmiri people’s will and pursue conflict elimination instead of resolution have only made the movement more relevant through their own actions,” he claimed.

He said that Pakistan would always stand by the people of Kashmir in their struggle for the right to self-determination. “Pakistan is a strong advocate for a just resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with United Nations resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” he added.