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Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has said that a recent trilateral initiative between Bangladesh, China and Islamabad could\u00a0be \u201cexpanded\u201d to include other regional nations and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have opposed \u2026 zero-sum approaches and consistently stressed the imperative of cooperation rather than confrontation,\u201d he told the Islamabad Conclave forum on Wednesday.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n In effect, the proposal amounts to the creation of an alternative bloc focused on South Asia, with China added, at a time when the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) \u2014 the region\u2019s main grouping \u2014 has been made almost defunct by heightened India-Pakistan tensions in recent years.<\/p>\n In June, diplomats from China, Pakistan and Bangladesh held trilateral talks focusing on regional stability, economic development and enhancing people\u2019s lives, a cooperation they said was \u201cnot directed at any third party\u201d.<\/p>\n Dar\u2019s remarks come against a backdrop of escalating regional tensions, including Pakistan\u2019s decades-long rivalry with India. The two nuclear-armed neighbours fought a brief four-day air war in May, further straining relations.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, ties between Dhaka and New Delhi have also deteriorated sharply following the ouster of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year. Hasina fled to India after being deposed in a popular uprising, and New Delhi has so far refused to send the former PM back to Bangladesh, where she was convicted by a tribunal in November of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death.<\/p>\n But will most other South Asian nations \u2014 SAARC consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan \u2014 agree to a new regional grouping that appears aimed at cutting India out, or at least limiting its influence?<\/p>\n Here is what you need to know:<\/p>\n Deputy Prime Minister Dar, who is also Pakistan\u2019s foreign minister, said the trilateral initiative with Bangladesh and China aimed to \u201cfoster mutual collaboration\u201d in areas of shared interest, and that the concept be \u201cexpanded and duplicated\u201d to include more countries and regions.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I have said before, there could be groups with variable geometry on issues from economy to technology to connectivity,\u201d he told the conclave in Islamabad.<\/p>\n \u201cOur own national development needs and regional priorities cannot \u2013 and should not \u2013 be held hostage to anyone\u2019s rigidity, and you know where I am referring to,\u201d he said, in an apparent reference to India.<\/p>\n On tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi, Dar pointed out that a \u201cstructured dialogue\u201d process between India and Pakistan has remained in limbo \u201cfor over 11 years\u201d, adding that other regional states have had their share of a \u201cseesaw relationship with our neighbour India\u201d.<\/p>\n The foreign minister said Pakistan envisions a South Asia where links and cooperation replace \u201cdivisions, economies grow in synergy, disputes are resolved peacefully in accordance with international legitimacy, and where peace is maintained with dignity and honour\u201d.<\/p>\n According to academic Rabia Akhtar, the proposal at this stage is likely \u201cmore aspirational than operational\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it signals Pakistan\u2019s intent to diversify and reimagine regional cooperation mechanisms at a time when SAARC remains paralysed,\u201d Akhtar, director at the Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research (CSSPR) at the University of Lahore, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n SAARC was established in 1985 at a summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh.<\/p>\n Its seven founding members were Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined to become the eighth member in 2007.<\/p>\n According to its website, the objectives of SAARC include improving the welfare and quality of life of South Asians, generating economic growth and cultural development.<\/p>\n Despite its lofty ambitions, the organisation has struggled to achieve its goals over the past 40 years, in large part due to the decades-long tensions between India and Pakistan, who have fought three full-scale wars since their independence from the British in 1947, which also coincided with the partition of the subcontinent.<\/p>\n The 19th SAARC summit in 2016, scheduled to be hosted by Islamabad, was indefinitely postponed after India pulled out, citing a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir and holding Pakistan responsible.<\/p>\n \u201cThe organisation requires consensus to function, and without political willingness from the two largest members to separate regional cooperation from bilateral disputes, SAARC cannot move forward,\u201d CSSPR\u2019s Akhtar said.<\/p>\n The last summit of the regional body was held in 2014 in Kathmandu, Nepal. However, analysts say while SAARC remains dormant, the organisation has potential to deliver for the region \u2014 if India and Pakistan allow it to.<\/p>\n As of 2025, SAARC countries make up more than two billion of the world\u2019s population, making South Asia the world\u2019s most densely populated region.<\/p>\n Yet, trade within South Asia is minimal, representing only about 5\u202fpercent of the region\u2019s overall commerce, around $23bn, the World Bank has said<\/a>. By contrast, trade between member states of\u00a0ASEAN, a bloc of 11 Southeast Asian nations home to about 700 million people, represents 25 percent of their international commerce, the Washington-based institution noted.<\/p>\n South Asian nations could exchange goods worth $67bn \u2013 three times their current trade \u2013 if they reduced barriers, the World Bank estimates.<\/p>\n Trade between India and Pakistan, in particular, remains dismal. In the financial year 2017-2018, official trade between the two neighbours stood at a mere $2.41bn. It fell further, halving to $1.2bn by 2024 \u2013 though unofficial trade between them, routed through other countries, is larger, at about $10bn, experts say.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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