04 January 2004	Sunday	11 Ziqa'ad 1424

ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: Pakistan on Saturday welcomed the idea of Iran's membership of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

"We support participation of the neighbouring countries including Iran and China as well as Japan in Saarc," the foreign office spokesman was quoted as saying by IRNA, the Iranian news agency here.

The spokesman added that the organization should be able to achieve its objectives declared in the Charter and embark on expanding activities outside the South Asian region at a later stage.

"First the organization should become active then associate other countries for a membership status," Masood Ahmed Khan added, saying that the expansion of Saarc was not on the agenda of the Islamabad summit.

In reply to a question about the future of Saarc, the spokesman said the organization had "promising prospects". But he was quick to add that differences among the member states should be resolved to guarantee its success.

He said: "All problems in the region should be resolved peacefully and through negotiations to provide Saarc with an opportunity to achieve its mission." -PPI