Musharraf talks peace & security, but India sticks to Saarc agenda

India, on the other hand, restricted itself to SAARC-specific issues, urging the association to translate meetings into meaningful programmes.

According to Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson, Masood Khan, Musharraf underlined the importance of ‘‘peace, security and confidence-building’’ for achieving the goals of SAARC.

‘‘He (Musharraf) said there was a need for SAARC to institute a process of confidence-building among member states and pay increased attention to preventive diplomacy and peaceful settlement of disputes,’’ Khan added.

Although India’s External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh indicated that luncheon reference was not part of the meet’s agenda, Khan continued to highlight it. ‘‘This is not a tacit proposal but an explicit proposal. Though the response was not forthcoming from members, the objective was to sensitise the member states that unless peace and security issues are addressed, it would be difficult to take the economic cooperation forward,’’ he said.

Singh, meanwhile, placed stress on the reluctance of SAARC to move beyond meetings. ‘‘As we approach the landmark summit at Dhaka next year, we need to shed our tendency to equate meetings, activities and establishment of expert groups with progress. Our delegation believes that we need to fashion an agenda that is in tune with the challenges we face, and resolve to collaborate together on practical and concrete projects in pursuit of that agenda,’’ Singh said.

He pointed out that nearly 140 different SAARC meetings were scheduled in the coming year, before stressing on dealing with specific projects. Singh suggested that certain Indian proposals be included such as the setting up of a Parliamentary Forum, a High Economic Council, a Infrastructure Fund and national committees on poverty alleviation in every country. This, however, did not find much space on Khan’s agenda as he chose to talk about ‘‘human rights violations in Kashmir’’ in the context of recent remarks by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage on the existence of a terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. Earlier in the day, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said in his inaugural address that ‘‘serious thought’’ must be given to ‘‘devising ways and means whereby political differences and disputes within the region are settled amicably.’’

Pakistan Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain chose to highlight the interest shown by China to associate itself with SAARC. ‘‘This is a very welcome development,’’ he said.

The foreign ministers are expected to finalise a vision document for SAARC to be released at Dhaka. The Dhaka summit would be held from January 9-11.