PESHAWAR, Aug 8: The national steering committee of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, an NGO, has demanded an end to visa restrictions among South Asian countries, a parliament on the pattern of the European Union and an apex court of the region.

The committee’s member Mohammed Adeel told newsmen at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday that a two-day regional conference on ‘Revisiting 60 years of freedom: Imagine a new South Asia’ would be held on Aug 11 and 12 in Lahore.

He said the South Asian people had not yet enjoyed the fruits of real independence as they faced poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, while the governments were spending over 50 per cent of the their gross domestic products on defence.

He said the South Asian governments should allocate the huge amount being spent on defence for health, education and welfare of their people. He said most of the countries in the region, except India, had not seen real democracy, as armies had directly or indirectly interfered in politics and democracy had never been allowed to flourish.

He called for friendly relations among the South Asian countries, so that they did not need to spend huge amounts on their defence. He called for end to visa restrictions and free movement of South Asians.

He said the South Asian nations should constitute a joint parliament like the European Union and a regional court of justice, so that people could approach it if they could not get justice in their national courts.

Mr Adeel, who is additional secretary of the Awami National Party, expressed concern over the situation in Balochistan, the NWFP, the tribal areas and Afghanistan, where, he said, Pukhtuns were being killed. He said the Pukhtuns were being deprived of their rights in Pakistan, while the tribesmen had been deprived of their basic rights under the Frontier Crimes Regulations.

He said Pakistan had been divided as a result of wrong policies of the rulers and the army had never allowed democracy to flourish.

He said the Pakistan-Afghan peace jirga being held in Kabul on Aug 9 was a first step towards restoration of peace in the region. He expressed the hope that the jirga would bear fruit.

The committee’s member Meraj Hamayun Khan said the objective of the conference being held in Lahore was to create awareness about myth and reality of freedom of the judiciary and media, natural and man-made disasters, neo-colonialism, environmental security and regional cooperation.