SAARC Chamber calls India to address cores issues with Pakistan

SAARC Chamber calls India to address cores issues with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Oct 6 (APP):Vice President,SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry,Iftikhar Ali Malik Thursday urged both the neighboring nuclear countries ( Pakistan and India ) to resolve outstanding economic and security disputes.

There is need for fully exploiting the economic potential of the eight-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for better future and durable peace in the region.

This was stated by Vice President of Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry,Iftikhar Ali Malik,while talking to a high level delegation of Pakistan Furniture Council headed by its Chief Executive Mian Kashif Ashfaq who is also life member of the SAARC Chamber, Pakistan Chamber.

He said SAARC had the potential to become one of the major global centres of economic power. “For this to happen, South Asia needs peace, South Asia needs stability, South Asia needs cooperation,” he added.

Showing his sheer despondency over recent cancellation of Saarc conference after refusal of India to participate, Iftikhar Ali Malik said war is no solution to disputes and both the countries should resolve issues through dialogue by defusing the escalation.

He said India escalated tension to conceal its brutality in occupied Kashmir and blamed Pakistan of Uri attack without any investigation.

He said both the states should resolve issues through diplomatic channels.

He said Pakistan had offered dialogue to India for the resolution of the Kashmir issue but the offer was rejected.

He said that Pakistan remained always committed to peace and regional cooperation.

He said they would continue to work to that end in the larger interest of the people of this region.

However, he reiterated that to achieve “durable peace” in South Asia, settlement of the Kashmir dispute is inevitable.

He said both the countries should dispose of war rhetoric and focus on development and prosperity of the people of the region.

“Unstable South Asia is not only a serious threat to local population but it also poses security threat to international community,” he pointed out.

Life member SAARC chamber of commerce and Industry Mian Kashif Ashfaq , said it is wrong perception deliberated propagated by Indian establishment that Pakistan is a serious threat to the stability of the region.

He said that the fact is that India is perceived as security threat by other regional countries and with the result there are more conflicts and less cooperation which has made South Asia a volatile region.

He urged the Indian government to play its positive role to strengthen any regional initiative for the better future of South Asia.

He further said that India is responsible for regional instability because it has tended to prefer bilateral engagements within the region and avoided multilateral ones to suit its ambitious policies and downplays regional cooperation by such policies of building bilateral alliances.

APP Services