CHOGM sidelines: Pakistan, Bangladesh discuss Saarc revival

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar held a bilateral meeting with Adviser for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Md Touhid Hossain on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa on Friday.

Following their assumption of office, this was the first meeting between the two dignitaries. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said that during the meeting the two officials discussed, among other things, ways and means of advancing high-level dialogue between the two countries and the revitalisation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

It is instructive to remember that late Bangladeshi president Lt-Gen Ziaur Rahman had in May 1980 come up with the idea of establishing Saarc. It remains to be seen how successful Pakistan and Bangladesh will be in reviving this regional body which operates with the consensus of all member-states.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said that Pakistan continued to hope that the obstacles in the way of holding the next Saarc summit would be soon removed so that Saarc could function as an effective instrument of regional cooperation.

The prime minister was pointing to the 19th Saarc Summit which was supposed to be held in Islamabad in November 2016 but was postponed after Indian Prime Minister Modi pulled out of the summit, blaming Pakistan for alleged cross-border terrorist attacks in the region. A few other member states close to India also followed and pulled out of the summit, leading to the postponement of the summit -- since the consensus of all member states is mandatory. Pakistan denied India’s allegations regarding terrorism.

In 2018, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma tried again to revive Saarc and approached Prime Minister Modi during their discussions in Delhi, hoping to convince him to attend the Islamabad Saarc summit. However, there was no change of heart in India.

During Friday’s meeting in Samoa the Bangladeshi adviser for foreign affairs, Deputy Prime Minister Dar also highlighted the historical, religious and cultural linkages between the two countries.

As per the Foreign Office, “Deputy Prime Minister Dar and Foreign Minister Hossain agreed to advance high-level dialogue and cooperation between Pakistan and Bangladesh, particularly in the areas of trade, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts”.