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Musharraf for Saarc role to end political conflicts

Sultana Rahman, from Lahore, Pakistan
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf yesterday called for Saarc to play the lead role to thrash out political and economic conflicts among the regional countries for progress and prosperity of South Asia.
He made the call while inaugurating three-day fourth Regional Conference of South Asian Free Media Association Safma) on ’Media and Reconciliation in South Asia’here.
"We must make Saarc a produc-
tive and pro-active forum for trade and economic cooperation and even for resolving political disputes," he told the opening session.
On the much-talked-about intra-regional cooperation, preferential trade agreement and free trade agreement, the president said Pakistan likes to move forward on these concepts but cautioned that these "good words" would not yield any results if there were obstructions to business in the form of tariff barriers.
"We need to be sincere in opening borders and removing tariff barriers to businesses for a mean-
ingful cooperation in trade and commerce among the Saarc memberstates,'' Musharraf noted.
He touched on the lingering issue of Kashmir and reiterated his offer for talks and dialogues with archrival India for peace in the region. "I have given options to resolve the political disputes and it is now up to India to respond," he told the conference.
The president said reconciliation between India and Pakistan is of utmost importance for regional and intra-regional cooperation. "We must make Saarc potent and pro-active." As for conflict resolutions, he emphasised that the regional grouping should play a proactive role.
More than 250 journalists and media practitioners from South Asia and other parts of the world, including 18 journalists from Bangladesh, are attending the conference organ-isedbySafma.
The thorny Kashmir issue over which the two nuclear rivals fought as many wars since their independence from Britain dominated most of the Pakistan president’s about half-an-hour speech.
The president also referred to his earlier meeting with Indian leaders, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vaipayee in Pakistan and present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York, and said. "I am talking with an open mind to resolve the issue. We want to harmonise relations with India."
He said the role of the Kashmiris cannot be ignored in the latest peace initiative. "You must he heard and your points must be vindicated," the president asserted.
He also gave a list of options while pinpointing the problems. He said the solution to the problem should be acceptable to all parties. "India can make its mind clear to us the way it wants solution to the Kashmir issue," he said.
President Musharraf expressed his firm determination to eliminate terrorism from the land and the terrain of Pakistan. "We cannot allow our country to be swayed by extremists either from within or outside."
Chaired by Safma President Reazuddin Ahmed (Bangladesh), the opening session was also addressed by Safma Secretary General Imtiaz Alam (Pakistan) and President of Safma. Pakistan M Ziauddin. Chief
Minister of Punjab Choudhry Parvez Elahi and Punjab Governor General (rtd) M Khalid Maqbool were also present.
The opening function was followed by two working sessions on 'Reconciliation in the Subcontinent’ and The Independence of Media after September 11' where Bangladesh Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury and The Independent Editor Manbubul Alam were discussants from Bangladesh.
The technical session on reconciliation highlighted disputes among countries of the region. The discussants at the session dwelt on the irritants in relations between Bangladesh and India. Maoist insurgency in Nepal, the LITE problem in Sri Lanka, and the Indo-Pak disputes.
Dr C Rajamohan of India said countries of the region have immense potentialities and Bangladesh could emerge as the second largest economy In the coming fewyears.
Safma General Secretary Imtiaz Alam said journalists remained under attack in the region and little has been done to bring media laws in harmony with demands of information revolution or in conformity with the right to know and freedom of expression.
"Secrecy, confidentiality and so-called state-interests, a hallmark of colonial rule worshiped by our bureaucracies, continued to deny the people their fundamental right to know..." he observed.
Speakers at the conference said the conference Is taking place at a time when a lot of activities are taking place in the sub-continent including Indo-Pak peace process and other bilateral issues concerning the rest of the South Asian countries including Bangladesh.
The conference would help float proposals to resolve bilateral issues.