ISLAMABAD The four-day Saarc interior ministers' conference concluded here on Saturday with pledges for effective multilateral cooperation to tackle terrorism. It declared terrorism as the “biggest challenge facing the region”.

The meeting discussed ways to strengthen police cooperation and step up real-time intelligence sharing and other means to combat terrorism that has afflicted the region.

Member countries agreed to consider a proposal forwarded by Pakistan to create an institution similar to Interpol.

The participants of the conference agreed that a centre would be set up at the Saarc headquarters to check financiers of terrorism and banned outfits. They resolved that they would ensure that their soil was not used for terrorist activities.

Some analysts believed that the meeting could not take any concrete step and that member countries did not step forward from where they stood in Colombo over two years ago. They were of the view that taking a decision regarding formation of Saarc police was a good step towards curbing crimes and terrorism, but no step was suggested in the conference to implement the decision.

Saarc Secretary-General Sheel Kant Sharma said at a press conference that the meeting expressed concern over the continuing scourge of terrorism afflicting the region which had caused extensive loss of human life, destruction and damage to property.

It was agreed in the ministerial level meeting that the member countries would extend cooperation to each other against terrorism while remaining within the purview of national laws and procedures and international commitments and following the principle of non-interference and non-intervention in each others' affairs.

The conference declared that terrorism posed a serious threat to peace and security, expressed deep concern over continuing scourge of terrorism afflicting the region which has caused extensive loss of human life, destruction and damage to property, took a note of the fact that peace and harmony, friendly and good neighbourly relations and cooperation and prosperity of the region are being threatened by terrorism.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik highlighted the objectives of the conference and spelt out Pakistan's policy, the central point of which was to seek regional cooperation to address the challenges at hand.