On December 8, the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar extended felicitations to the SAARC Member States and the people of South Asia on the 39th SAARC Charter Day hoping for the resolution of issues impeding the revival of the eight-member organisation. The last complete SAARC summit was hosted by Nepal in 2014. Reactivating SAARC has become hugely important because South Asia is facing challenges like never before. Worsening air quality in SAARC countries, particularly in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is another area where cooperation is inevitable, sooner than later. India’s participation in the long overdue SAARC summit in Pakistan could be a first step in this regard.

Source: The Nation December 10, 2023 21:13 UTC