NEW DELHI, April 4: The 14th Saarc summit in 22 years ended here on Wednesday with a call to combat terrorism that dogs all its member states and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, evidently nudged by Pakistan, also signalled his support to tackling political differences as a factor to make the organisation work better.

"We are quite pleased with what we have achieved at the summit and in our bilateral talks. We now need to press on with the resolve to do everything needed to make the organisation work even better," Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said on telephone after the eight-nation summit ended with a joint declaration.

In their declaration, Saarc countries, that now also include Afghanistan, said terrorism was a threat to peace and security in the region. They condemned the targeted killing of civilians and terrorist violence, in all its forms and manifestations, wherever and against whomsoever committed.

While the declaration "noted the initiative of India to prepare a draft of Saarc Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and welcomed the offer of Sri Lanka to hold a meeting of legal advisers to examine the idea of a draft convention", it was apparent that Pakistan was not planning to accept a multilateral extradition pact the move implied. But the seed of the idea has been planted, nevertheless.

Dr Manmohan Singh, who wound up the proceedings with a brief address on Wednesday, said the Saarc declaration was "comprehensive and forward-looking. It gives Saarc a wider mandate to promote peace and development in our region, including through greater connectivity –- in trade, in the movement of people and through the flow of ideas."

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had stressed the need for a mechanism to resolve disputes between the region's states as a precondition for progress. Dr Singh appeared to agree with the suggestion but the point was not included in the formal declaration, possibly because the Saarc charter as it exists does not allow for contentious issues to be discussed.

The Indian prime minister, however, found a way to address Pakistan's concerns. "I cannot agree more that the touchstone of our efforts to reinvigorate Saarc must be the difference our efforts make to the lives of the poorest of the poor and the weakest of the weak. This is our highest mandate," he said.

And then he added: "To win this war, we must work together. We must resolve our differences, and we must enhance regional cooperation. We must also win the war against all forms of extremism and intolerance in our region."

The summit has declared 2008 as the year of good governance. The countries resolved also to jointly fight the scourge of corruption.

"The quality of our discussions in the retreat today morning gives me confidence that we can soon bring the fruits of Saarc to our people," Dr Singh said. "We have agreed to make tangible progress in the next six months on four issues which affect our people's daily lives."

These are water, including flood control, energy, food and the environment.

"We will work with international agencies to develop and implement viable cross-border regional projects in these four sectors, which address our people’s basic needs," he added.