In an apparent move to lodge protest over inviting a minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir government, an Indian diplomat on Saturday quietly walked out of the 34th Saarc Charter Day event after the minister was called to deliver a speech. Shubham Singh, Commercial Counsellor of Indian High Commission in Islamabad, just left the session the moment AJK Minister for Sports and Culture Chaudhry Mohammad Saeed started addressing the audience including high commissioners and ambassadors from all Saarc member countries.
The event, organised by Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was addressed by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Noordeen Mohmed Shaheid, Ambassador of Nepal Sewa Lamsal, High Commissioner of Maldives Ahmed Saleem, Political Counsellor of Bangladesh Najmul Huda, and Chargé D'affaires of Afghanistan Rahim Ullah Qatra. The speakers emphasised on the need for regional cooperation through the forum of Saarc. Members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of various chambers were also present on the occasion.
This was for the second consecutive day the Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria did not attend the event related to the 34th Saarc Charter Day celebrations; firstly on Friday when he declined the invitation of the Foreign Office and sent second secretary of the High Commission Akhilesh Singh, and secondly when he was invited by the Saarc Chamber and Industry on Saturday. Shubham Singh was his replacement, but he left the event in middle.
In her address as the chief guest, Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua reiterated that Pakistan stands ready to host the 19th Saarc Summit, saying that it will bring the region together.
She said that Pakistan believes in peaceful neighbourhood and the decision of opening the Kartarpur corridor was taken in this context which would felicitate the Sikh pilgrims.
She further said that Pakistan desires to have good neighbourly relations with Afghanistan and wants to further increase the trade and economic ties.
"I am a strong believer of practicality. While endorsing and fully subscribing to the values of Saarc, we must realise that, in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the Saarc, we need to have an action-oriented plan rather than being dependent on rhetoric," she said, adding, "Merely making statements while ignoring the need to undertake concrete actions will take us nowhere."
Given the tremendous opportunities for growth and investment in South Asia with its huge market and vast resources, she said that many countries and organisations in the region and beyond are keen to develop closer linkages with Saarc.
"This bears testimony to the importance due to South Asia," she said. She pointed out that so far Saarc has granted observer status to eight countries and the EU. Such external linkages are important particularly in the context of an increasingly globalised world, she added.
She said that cooperation under Saarc encompasses a diverse range of areas such as agriculture and rural development, trade, environment, energy, science and technology, security, poverty alleviation, social development, culture and tourism.
She said that over the years, a number of legal frameworks and plans of action have also been adopted providing a sound basis for pursuing collaborative endeavours in these areas which are being pursued in earnest by the various Saarc mechanism such as the Charter Bodies, Ministerial processes and other inter governmental meetings.
President Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nandana Jayaruwan Edirisinghe stressed for removing trade barriers amongst the regional countries in order to fully exploit the economic potential of the region.