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.