10 March 2005	Thursday	28 Muharram 1426

ISLAMABAD, March 9: Pakistan has proposed convening of the 13th Saarc summit in mid-April, it is learnt. "Pakistan has proposed new set of dates, falling in mid-April , in its capacity as the current Chairman of Saarc after consulting the host government in Dhaka," well-placed government sources told Dawn on Wednesday.

The sources said the proposed dates had been conveyed to all member states this week. Pakistan would make a formal announcement about the fresh dates as soon as it received confirmation from all member countries, sources said, adding that Pakistan hoped to get a response by the next week at the latest.

The 13th Saarc summit has been postponed twice, first due to the tsunami disaster that hit the region and then due to Indian decision to pull out of the summit. Saarc rules, tradition and practice require the presence of all seven-member states for the holding of its apex meetings. A summit cannot take place even if one of the seven member states decides to abstain from it.

Last week foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said here now all Saarc countries were on board, conveying that India had agreed to attend the summit in Dhaka. Pointing to the inconvenience caused to the host country by the last postponement of the Saarc summit, officials here hoped that the proposed dates for the summit would be agreed upon soon.

The government of Bangladesh had made elaborate arrangements for the summit conference that cost it around 160 million takkas. Pakistan, reiterating its commitment to the Saarc process, has repeatedly underlined the need for strengthening the process. The 13th summit was initially slated for Jan 9-11 and then rescheduled for Feb 6-7.