KARACHI, Pakistan: President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday called for turning the platform of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) effective through strong regional connectivity and people to people contact.
While addressing a conference on Peace in South Asia organized by Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) in Karachi, the president said the region home to around 1.7 billion, representing 21 percent of the world population, is in urgent need of peace.
“South Asia is mired in several crisis and conflicts at the moment due to various unresolved political and geographical factors,” President Mamnoon said.
Mentioning that the situation was getting all the more complex due to India’s ongoing arms build-up, instability in Afghanistan and the menace of terrorism, the president said the situation can be aptly tackled through regional cooperation and settling of longstanding disputes.
“I believe that the whole region of South Asia is in search for peace and prosperity; however, these have become elusive due to war and conflicts,” Mamnoon Hussain regretted.
The president reiterated that destiny of the people in region was linked with each other and it is only through mutual cooperation that they can fight poverty, unemployment, climate change, militancy and other public issues.
