KARACHI, Jan 6: Calling the Islamabad conference of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation a successful event, speakers at a seminar on Tuesday called for making it a process guaranteeing good and equal opportunities of development to all the countries in the South Asian region.

They said that relations between India and Pakistan had overshadowed the objectives and resolutions of Saarc and called for making the body of seven countries vibrant and people- friendly.

The seminar on "Saarc and the future of South Asia" was organized by the Programme on Peace Studies Conflict Resolution, Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, on Tuesday.

Prof Sridhar Khatri, the executive director of Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo, underlined the need for follow up action on decisions taken at Saarc conferences and monitoring of actions taken subsequently.

He suggested that the Saarc secretariat should comprise experts and professionals for implementation of decisions, adding that secretaries of ministries and bureaucratic mechanism alone could not ensure any meaningful progress.

Syed M. Ibrahim, president of the Institute of Hazarath Mohammad, Dhaka, said that Saarc had not been able to prove itself an organization of seven countries. He said conflicts between India and Pakistan had reduced the scope of participation and active role for the remaining five members.

Since during the sideline meetings the Indian and Pakistani leadership had come close to each other during the 12th SAARC Summit, it could be termed a successful event, he said. He added that perhaps some world power, which in its own interest, needed to make South Asia a peaceful region, was the force behind the latest meeting of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf.

He also called upon the member countries to remove the visa restrictions to all South Asian citizens in phases, and put in place a rotational system of appointment of competent and dynamic persons as Saarc secretary.

Dr Moonis Ahmar of the KU International relations department, who also convened the seminar, said that practical measures should be taken to implement charters, treaties and conventions signed by South Asian leaders, as it was the only way to provide relief to the people of the region, already plagued by poverty.

Identifying the non-military areas of cooperation between the countries of Saarc, he said that there was enough room for trade, cultural and educational relations. He hailed the signing of different agreements during the Islamabad conference. He observed that SAFTA was an opportunity in the area of trade. "But at the same time its implementation in the years to come was also a challenge for the Saarc countries," he said. He also asked the Saarc countries to reduce the number of their forces and reduce their defence expenditure.

Prof Haroon Rashid of the Dhaka University said that the latest Saarc summit had generated hopes and it was successful in a way that it would contribute towards creating congenial atmosphere, understanding on different issues and willingness to resolve those.

He said that progress made by Saarc so far was not satisfactory and there was need to locate the impediments in advancements of representative body of about 1.4 billion people. He observed that issues like Kashmir, rise in religious and fundamental forces in some countries of the region, ethnic problems and within and across the borders incidents of terrorism should be addressed on priority basis to create a ground for success of the Saarc.

Deepak Thapa of the Himal Association of Nepal said that the entire regional people, including establishment and bureaucrats, had attachment to the objectives of Saarc, which had been hold hostage to the animosity of India and Pakistan.

If implemented in real sense, the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) would have a longer effect on the people of the region, he added, saying that the required results could only be achieved with practical measures and realization of geographical entities.

Dr S.I. Keethaponcalan of Political Science Department, the University of Colombo, said that small member countries of Saarc should be provided with more opportunities in the process, otherwise, they could go for developing bilateral relations with other partners in the region to boost up their respective economy.

In his concluding remarks, Prof Mehtab Ali Shah of Sindh University, who presided over the seminar, said that the future of Saarc would be bright and peace would finally prevail in the region.