IPRI holds International Conference in Islamabad

Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) organized a two day international conference on ‘Regional Dynamics and Strategic Concerns in South Asia’ in collaboration with Hans Seidel Foundation (HSF), at Serena Hotel Islamabad. The objective was to analyze the regional dynamics and strategic stability concerns in South Asia affecting the overall strategic outlook for Pakistan. Eminent scholars from Afghanistan, China, Germany, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia and Sri Lanka participated in the conference. The objective of this conference is to find plausible recommendations for policy makers in Pakistan and beyond. Speaking on the first day of the conference, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mehmood Hayat said that “enduring peace could be achieved in south Asia only through resolution of the Kashmir dispute…India is committing atrocities in occupied Kashmir, and 7700 people have lost their eyesight due to use of pellet guns.”
President IPRI and Ambassador, Abdul Basit said primary objective of Pakistan’s foreign policy was to have peace in the region and beyond, adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan should stop mutual recriminations, and serious efforts should be made to move forward the process of reconciliation. Elaborating further, Abdul Basit said: “We want to hold dialogue with India on all outstanding issues including Jammu and Kashmir. As a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan was not interested in the arms race in the region.” In his remarks, Charge de Affairs in German Embassy Dr. Jens Jokisch said confrontation could be avoided through mutual engagement, and tensions could eased through constant dialogue. He observed that “Asia region needed confidence measures to create a win-win situation.” But India is committing ceasefire violations along the Line of Control. During the last one year, India has committed 1200 ceasefire violations that are highest in the last ten years.
Socially, the region is diverse and unique as it holds people from different backgrounds and ethnicities together. However, the region’s political dimension is cluttered as a spirit of nationalism among states prevails stronger, which more often than not overshadows the prospects of regionalism. The ambitions of economic interaction and interdependence have largely remained unaddressed due to polarization among regional states. The assessment of socio-political trends in South Asia reflects that the region is facing multi-dimensional challenges of socio-economic and politico-military nature. The 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable
Development, comprising 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is especially relevant for South Asian countries as the region accounts for 37 per cent of the world’s poor, nearly half of the world’s malnourished children, and suffers from a number of development and infrastructure gaps. To address these problems, there is need for peace in the region.
But India is creating obstacles in the way of achieving peace with the result that SAARC has remained a non-starter. The 18th South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit concluded without any progress in Katmandu. Unfortunately, Indian leadership has a known history of creating problems and impeding the success of SAARC during past thirty-six years of its existence. Similar was the fate of 18th SAARC conference, primarily due to Big Brother attitude of India. Resultantly, no worthwhile agreements/MoUs could be inked. Indian government and media unnecessarily blamed Pakistan for this failure and tried to portray it as a stumbling block in SAARC with an aim to denigrate Pakistan in the region. The reason is that India tries to portray as a global power, but its troubled relations with all of her neighbours including Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka speak volumes about her dominating and intimidating attitude in the region.
India wields influence over Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan. The 19th SAARC summit was planned to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 15-16 November 2016. The summit was to be attended by the leaders of the eight SAARC member states and representatives of observers and guest states. Following the rising diplomatic tensions after the Uri terrorist attack, India announced its boycott of the summit, alleging Pakistan’s involvement in the attack. Later, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan also pulled out of the summit resulting in an indefinite postponement of the summit. Bangladesh also pulled out of the summit in Islamabad. The Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry conveyed to the SAARC Chair Nepal that Pakistan’s increasing interference in Bangladesh’s domestic affairs was inimical to the interest of Bangladesh and under such circumstances it was not possible to participate in the summit at Islamabad.
Afghanistan announced its withdrawal from the summit, stating: “Due to increased level of violence and fighting as a result of imposed terrorism on Afghanistan, (President) Ashraf Ghani with his responsibilities as the Commander-in-Chief will be fully engaged, and will not be able to attend the Summit.” Bhutan also withdrew from the summit stating that “the recent escalation of terrorism in the region has seriously compromised the environment for the successful holding of the summit.” The Bhutanese government stated that it also shared the concerns of some member states on the deterioration of regional peace because of terror. Nepal, the current chair of SAARC, urged that conducive environment be created soon to ensure the participation of all member states in the 19th SAARC summit in line with the spirit of the SAARC charter. The Maldives, though a small country as compared with other countries, had the spine to refrain from boycotting the conference.