Rivalries freeze S. Asian group

Rivalries freeze S. Asian group

DHAKA (Reuters): Regional rivalries and the military takeover
in Pakistan have virtually frozen the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which is in deep crisis, experts
told a seminar in Bangladesh on Sunday.

A summit of its leaders scheduled for Kathmandu last year was
put off in view of tensions between nuclear-capable rivals India
and Pakistan and the organization was now in limbo, they said.

"In the wake of tit-for-tat nuclear tests by India and
Pakistan followed by the Kargil conflict and then a military
takeover in Pakistan, the activities of the SAARC have been
frozen," said Dr Iftekharuzzaman, a Bangladeshi expert in
regional politics.

"The 15-year old association now faces its deepest crisis,"
said Iftekharuzzaman, who heads the Freedom Foundation in Dhaka,
a private research organization.

SAARC comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.