THE leaders of Saarc are scheduled to meet in Nepal at a time when civilian deaths resulting from skirmishes between India and Pakistan on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary have cast a dark shadow over South Asia.

The guns may perhaps fall silent when the summit conference is held, but that is more likely to mean respite rather than a long-term solution to the problems that obstruct a more vibrant and cooperation-oriented relationship among the member countries.

Accepting the Nepalese prime minister’s invitation to attend the conference in his country on Nov 26-27, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated his desire for greater economic cooperation among the “major countries” of the South Asian forum. Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, had pleaded for greater cooperation among Saarc nations to alleviate poverty.

This is the same Mr Modi who has upped the ante in Kashmir by giving carte blanche to his troops for a higher force level to ‘retaliate’ against Pakistan.

Founded 29 years ago, Saarc should have been a going concern by now; instead it has not even managed to hold annual summit conferences regularly.

In contrast, we have the enviable examples of such regional blocs as Asean, the African Union and the Organisation of American States, not to speak of the miracle that is the European Union. All that Saarc has done all these decades is to come up with a plethora of pious resolutions which have remained confined to paper.

The 1990 conference in the Maldives launched two major projects for “organised tourism” and “special travel documents” providing for visa liberalisation for certain categories of visitors, but nothing practical was done.

Last week, Saarc energy ministers met in New Delhi and finalised the framework for cooperation to share technology in renewable energy and pricing mechanisms. But it remains to be seen whether there will be progress on this vital sector.

Given the fact that the Saarc bloc comprises 23pc of the world’s population, the scope for trade and economic growth is enormous. But the basic issue is the mistrust between its two major powers, Pakistan and India, and the latter’s dominating attitude.

A regional grouping can work in an atmosphere free from duress and coercion. But, sadly, this is lacking in South Asia. Social dividends from trade can provide the impetus for cooperation, but Saarc’s political leadership has shown a lack of will to turn the regional grouping into a dynamic entity.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2014