Hold tight, each one of you
Snake-tails of your own
Country, religion, convictions
The way people hold each other
On a sinking boat.
—Noman Shauk, Dubati Nau Par
After the Islamabad tamasha, it is clear that SAARC is yet to grow out of the shadows of infantile rivalry between India and Pakistan. The regional grouping has failed to evolve into an independent identity.It has not come of age, despite having crossed 18, the age at which most Southasians become eligible to vote. As expected, the now-on-now-off India-Pakistan peace parley hogged the headlines. The summit that had given General Pervez an opportunity to play host to Premier Atal was pushed to the background. Before the heads of the Seven Sisters meet next in Bangladesh, SAARC runs the risk of another spell of uncertain hibernation.
After the third try, medley of SAARC leaders did agree to establish the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) by 2016, but the mechanism to achieve that seems to have been left deliberately vague. Other than that, the Islamabad meet will be remembered more for the shervanis that Vajpayee ordered with the tailors of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto than anything else. Trade may open doors ajar, but for a true Southasian Community to develop, some politics needs to be introduced into the frail organisation.
Apolitical outfit