Mumbai : The vice president Hamid Ansari in his speech in Mumbai on Wednesday expressed disappointment with the working of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC). He stated that SAARC has not being encouraging and he called for exploration of new strategies that is “devoid of overt or covert coercion.”
While addressing the gathering after releasing the book ‘August Voices: What they said on 14-15 August 1947’ authored by Observer Research Foundation Chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni on Wednesday at World Trade Centre, Hamid said, alternate strategies need to be explored. “The proposed new structure would have to be voluntary and devoid of overt or covert coercion. There may be lessons to be learnt from other regional organizations,” Ansari said.
SAARC is founded on December 8, 1985 when late Rajeev Gandhi was prime minister of India. Apart from India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka are the members of SAARC. Due to difference between India and Pakistan post Uri attack, India along with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had boycotted 19th charter of SAARC summit scheduled in Islamabad in November.
Hamid’s speech had reference of Uri attack. He said, “Political commitment and modalities have to surface to resolve outstanding areas of disagreement. Foremost amongst these is what the Simla Agreement of 1972 called ‘a final settlement of Jammu and Kashmir,’ he added.
Ansari said that the state is doing all that is necessary to confront and repel terrorism and the state also has a duty to ensure that the rights and dignity of its citizens are respected, ensured and shortcomings are effectively addressed. “Alienation of any segment of the citizen body within our land does not contribute to the overall health of the Republic,” he said.
He expressed that a beginning has to be made in regional cooperation with a focus on human security problems, on movement of people and on trade without unreasonable restrictions.