ISLAMABAD:
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday made a pitch for a new regional body to replace the long-dormant South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Speaking at the opening session of the 5th Islamabad Conclave hosted by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), Dar warned that South Asia could no longer afford to remain trapped in “zero-sum mindsets, political fragmentation and dysfunctional regional architecture”.
He said Pakistan sought “open and inclusive regionalism” and signalled support for emerging multilateral platforms outside SAARC.
Dar said earlier this year Pakistan, Bangladesh and China established a trilateral mechanism to foster mutual collaboration in areas of common interests.
“This concept can be expanded and replicated. As I have said before, groups with variable geometry – on issues from the economy to regional priorities – cannot and should not be held hostage to anyone’s rigidity,” Dar said, in a veiled reference to India.
The recent trilateral meeting of Pakistan, China and Bangladesh in Kunming, the first of its kind, was a key step in the ongoing consultations.
Senior diplomats from the three countries explored the contours of a new grouping, with an eye to eventually inviting other South Asian states, including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan.
India would also be invited to join the proposed forum, sources said, but New Delhi is unlikely to participate given its growing strategic divergence with both Pakistan and China.
SAARC, once envisioned as the “EU of South Asia”, has effectively been defunct since 2016, when India boycotted the summit Islamabad was scheduled to host. Bangladesh, under Sheikh Hasina at the time, also followed suit.
Since then, no summit has been held, and recent actions including India’s withdrawal of SAARC visa exemptions for Pakistani businessmen have further weakened the organisation.
Officials familiar with the backchannel discussions said Pakistan and China concluded that the region could no longer wait for SAARC to revive, and that “like-minded countries must move ahead.”
Observers note that India’s unease with broader regional groupings has increased in recent years.
India also faced an embarrassing moment last week when nine SCO members declined to back its position on Pakistan. New Delhi refused to sign the final communiqué because it did not include language aligned with its narrative on the Pahalgam attack.
In his address, the foreign minister urged South Asian states to break away from “the burden of history” and pursue cooperation in security, economy, climate adaptation and connectivity. He cited the recent India-Pakistan 92-hour crisis as proof of how fragile the region remains.
Dar said Pakistan envisions a South Asia where “connectivity replaces divisions” and disputes are resolved peacefully, while adding that a just solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue remains “indispensable” for sustainable peace.
He also welcomed new formats of cooperation, including the PakistanChinaBangladesh trilateral mechanism, which he said could be expanded into broader coalitions with “variable geometry” on trade, technology and infrastructure.
