SAARC: Guarded silence on terror

TERROR TALK: Manmohan Singh made a rather understated reference to terrorism in his inaugural address.

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New Delhi: The SAARC Summit began with a colourful start as the regional leaders, led by host Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, flagged off the first car rally that is now headed to Maldives where the next summit will be held.

After that, it was back to business—Manmohan Singh formally took over from Bangladesh the chairmanship of the 14th SAARC summit.

But those expecting fireworks on terrorism would have been disappointed. "We should implement in a sincere manner the commitments and pledges made to root out terrorism," says Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

There was a matching response from his Pakistani counterpart who never mentioned Kashmir at all in his address.

"I hope that the Delhi summit will be a turning point in SAARC history. Let it breathe new life into it," says Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

But Afghan President Karzai, without naming Pakistan, slammed support for terrorism in his country. Sri Lanka's Rajapakse called for a joint terror mechanism within SAARC while Bangladesh said the security concerns of members should be addressed.

India will open its markets to products of its poorer neighbors by the end of the year allowing them duty free access. Amid applause Manmohan Singh also announced a liberal visa regime.

"India has decided with immediate effect to unilaterally provide visas to students, researchers, teachers, journalists and patients of the SAARC countries," says Singh.

But all leaders agreed that there should be more of action and less to talk during the SAARC summit if it needed to be relevant for the people of this region.

(With Suhasini Haider)