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With Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu calling for resumption of the biennial SAARC summit process, India reiterated Tuesday that it’s Pakistan’s support for cross-border terrorism that has blocked the intergovernmental organisation, which was conceived to build a connected and integrated South Asia. Muizzu in his Independence Day speech had also offered to act as a mediator between India and Pakistan to advance talks for an early leaders’ summit. The last SAARC summit was held in 2014 in Nepal. The next summit that Pakistan was scheduled to host in 2016 could never take place as India pulled out because of the cross-border Uri terrorist attack. India has since maintained that regional cooperation under SAARC is adversely affected due to continued support to cross-border terrorism and interference in the internal affairs of member-states by Pakistan. Member-states like the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal have from time-to-time sought revival of the summit. “India favors strong regional cooperation and has been working towards it for several decades. Everyone in South Asia is aware of which country and what activities are responsible for stymieing SAARC,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, adding that cooperation requires goodwill. The official was responding to a question about Muizzu’s remarks in which he had sought “reactivation’ of SAARC calling it vital for regional peace and security. “We must bring matters to the point where the leaders of SAARC resume holding summits once again,” said Muizzu. “To those parties among whom differences have arisen in this regard, the Maldives calls upon you to set those matters aside, to prioritise friendship for the sake of regional development and regional peace, and to come to the negotiating table. Should the task prove challenging, the Maldives stands ready to take the initiative and act as a mediator to advance those discussions,” said the president, adding that SAARC must be operationalised once again and that his administration would always champion peace. Muizzu also said that SAARC had brought numerous benefits to the region “However, we now witness a span of some nine years during which this organisation has been rendered, or has become, dysfunctional. Given that the foreign policy of the Maldives is structured…upon the principle that differences should be addressed through consultation, by bringing concerns to the discussion table, reaching resolutions, and moving forward in a manner that benefits all, the reactivation of SAARC is equally vital for regional peace and security,” he added. Muizzu said his government’s foreign policy was based on the conviction that if differences are left to be settled by violence and force, no resolution will ever be found.
