Saarc: at a turning point?

The call for a shift in focus from words to action at the 30th session of the Saarc standing committee is encouraging. For too long has Saarc been nothing more than a debating club where much is said but little is done.

At present, South Asia has little to show in terms of collective efforts for human development despite being one of the most populous regions in the world. Spending on health and education is low, while the incidence of poverty, disease and unemployment has risen over the years.

Saarc provides an effective framework that can be used to enhance cooperation between member states in areas of common interest. Such cooperation can extend to fields like control of disease, particularly AIDS, fighting poverty, enhancing trade and generally helping South Asians raise their standard of living.

This week's discussions on poverty reduction at the Islamabad meeting may well be the beginning of a sustained endeavour aimed at combating this shared problem. Before us are several examples of successful regional groupings like Asean which have greatly benefited their people from joining hands with neighbours for the common good.

The Islamabad meeting has also focused on fostering regional connectivity in the field of energy. Delegates have called for the establishment of a ministerial forum on energy while there is also a proposal for setting up a Saarc energy centre to increase cooperation in this field.

These well-intentioned proposals need to be followed up with some tangible developments that mark a shift away from words to action. In the past year, Saarc has been able to pursue its agenda of promoting regional economic cooperation, with countries now looking towards the establishment of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement and possibly a single currency for the region in the future.

With the economic agenda of Saarc countries gaining importance, the idea of setting up an energy grid in the region has great appeal. In this regard, hopes have been raised that the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project may be revived. Such a high-profile project would give a much needed boost to regional cooperation.

The multi-billion dollar project promises enormous benefits for all three countries. Another possibility is sourcing gas from Turkmenistan. For India, either of these projects will mean a cheaper alternative to its expensive fuel imports to run industries in its Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat states.

For Pakistan, this would translate into an additional source of natural gas as well as substantial earning in annual transit fees for the pipeline that would be laid across its territory.

At the same time, this project could be a precursor of extensive cooperation in this sector since Bangladesh's rich gas resources could also be brought in and connected to the regional grid.

This could then be linked to other member states which would welcome the supply of gas as a cheaper alternative to oil. With limitless possibilities, the idea of cooperating on energy resources should be taken up on a priority basis. Such an undertaking will go a long way in cementing bonds of regional cooperation.

Demonizing Iran

Iran now seems to have become the Bush administration's whipping boy. With the Iraqi misadventure having proved counterproductive, the Bush team obviously needs a new vote-catching punching bag.

On Monday, President George Bush said his government was investigating whether Tehran was involved with 9/11. As records of what transpired immediately after 9/11 show, many members of his cabinet wanted to use the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington to devastate Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Only Secretary of State Colin Powell was hesitant, pointing out that there was no evidence of Iraq's involvement with 9/11. Iraq was, nevertheless, invaded 18 months later, though the casus belli - that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction - turned out to be a hoax.

Now Iran is being held guilty on two counts: that it is developing WMDs and that it could have a role in 9/11. The only "evidence" - if it can be called that - was that some of the hijackers had passed through Iran.

This "evidence" was never talked about by Mr George Tenet, the man who was CIA's chief during these crucial years. Now it has been left to his deputy - the spy agency's acting chief - to allege that eight of the hijackers had passed through Iran. Mercifully, he stopped at that, saying there was no evidence that Tehran was involved with the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon.

It is highly unlikely that the Bush administration will attack Iran - or Syria. With Iraq turning into a Vietnam, not even the most diehard of Bush cabinet policy-makers would advocate a war on another Muslim country.

Nevertheless, the Iran talk will be seen as falling in line with the neo-conservatives' one obsession - the continued demonization of Muslims. For pursuing this single objective, they would fabricate evidence, distort facts, and broadcast unceasing propaganda against Muslim countries - including friends like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

This way they not only expect to get more votes, but also please Israel. Using America's might against the Muslim world for Israel's benefit is a major Zionist aim. What rational people in the US administration should do is to ask themselves: is this the way to win Muslim hearts and minds?

Bringing prisoners home

The release of 66 Pakistani detainees from Afghan jails is bound to raise the spirits of those still languishing behind bars in a country notorious for its miserable prison conditions.

Approximately 500 Pakistani prisoners - part of the large flow of volunteers who crossed the border to take up arms against the Americans in 2001 - remain in the country. While it is not known when exactly they will be set free and allowed to return, it is believed that the US - which itself has been accused of prisoner abuse in Afghanistan - has given Kabul the green light for the release of the detainees.

This is a relief as many are being kept in subhuman conditions and are suffering from disease as they endure the hardships of prison life. Their mistreatment has been internationally criticized and it has been noted how many of them are kept in underground cells with no medical care and little access to the outside world. Many are said to be on the verge of starvation as proper meals are denied to them.

The prisoners have more than paid the price for their folly and misguided zeal in attempting to take on the might of the Americans. Many of them are simple folk, moulded by religious traditions and easily influenced by our fire-breathing clergy, and most do not have links with hardcore militants of the type that Al Qaeda activists represent.

One would have thought that this fact would have been recognized by the Americans who call the shots in Kabul, and that after the verification of their credentials, the detainees would have been set free a long time ago.

Instead, they have been forced to live in appalling conditions without access to legal counsel or humanitarian groups who could take up their case. Pakistan must now use all its diplomatic means to obtain the release of those whose lives, after their Afghan misadventure, will never be the same again.