Saarc on ventilator

Eric Shahzar | August 26, 2020

With the US finding it difficult to steer the wheel of the international liberal order, the spirit of
global solidarity and cooperation remains on a slippery slope. The US - the architect of this
world order - emphasised on globalising the economy, something which the Bretton Woods
institutions helped achieve in the previous decades. Today however, as right-wing conservative,
hyper-nationalistic politics and populist regimes gain momentum, the international liberal order
is under retreat.

Brexit was a critical sign of how integrated regional cooperations such as the EU can dismantle
through a referendum. In South Asia, even though it carries potential like no other region, we
see how Saarc has remained on a ventilator since its creation. Pakistan and India - being at
constant daggers drawn - is one fundamental reason why South Asia is the least integrated
region in the world. But today the current geo-political landscape has added more fuel to fire.

India has gone to lengths in a bid to stall Saarc. To undermine the regional organisation, India is
now turning to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to alter its foreign policy interest and disregard Pakistan. No surprise
that New Delhi has begun to look for alternative “multilateral regional/sub regional
organisations” that do not include Pakistan. Being called a “slow boat to nowhere” by Indian
strategic analyst C Raja Mohan, chances of Saarc coming back into the spotlight seem remote,
especially when Indian ambition to become a regional hegemony looms large in the complexed
region.

Kashmir is another bone of contention between India and Pakistan which gives little hope to
Saarc’s revival. With Indian brutality and mass violations of basic rights escalating in the
vulnerable Kashmiri valley, Pakistan will never sit on the same table with Indian authorities.
Kashmir remains the most contentious issue in the South Asian region, which has also led to
the cancellation of the 2016 Saarc Summit in Islamabad. No summit has taken place since the
Uri attack.

This year, Covid-19 pandemic exposed the existing fault lines in South Asia with collapsing
health systems, choking economies, and poverty reaching unprecedented levels. These must
act as a wake-up call for the regional countries. It is time for regional solidarity and Saarc is the
ideal platform for making regional cooperation a reality.

One simply cannot neglect the trade potential this region carries. According to the World Bank,
South Asia’s trade potential currently hovers around $67 billion, almost thrice the current trade
of about $23 billion. The Covid-19 crisis has given the region a new window of opportunity for
economic independency. Today, through the use of Saarc, South Asian countries now have an
opportunity to come together to remove tariffs on medical devices, protective gear and essential
products.

With accelerated climate change manifesting, South Asia must focus on a robust regional- level
response to curb climate vulnerabilities, where all nations are on the same page. If states are
constantly hostile, ecological disruption will gain more momentum and cause damage of
unprecedented nature and scale. Only a unified narrative will help mitigate the impacts of
ecological disruption.

During the inauguration of the historical Kartarpur Corridor in November 2019, Pakistan’s FM
Shah Mahmood Qureshi stated, “If the Berlin Wall could fall and Kartarpur Corridor be opened
— the issue of Kashmir can also be solved,” which would mean the end of the Line of Control
(LoC). Even though Pakistan’s foreign policy has been ambiguous on multiple occasions, this
time, it sent out the right message. The Kartarpur Corridor shows how there are chances of
reconciliation between two nuclear-armed archrivals.

With political and economic vulnerabilities looming large and climate trauma becoming ever so
prominent, regional solidarity in South Asia is an urgent need. One thing the Covid-19 crisis has
taught us that diseases, terrorism and accelerated climate change are all borderless challenges
which must be countered in coordinated forums. Today more than ever, Saarc needs a revival.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2020.

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