SAARC leaders urge joint fight against terrorism

COLOMBO, Saturday (Reuters) - The leaders of South Asia called for fighting terrorism together as a regional Summit overshadowed by border conflict between India and Pakistan, its biggest members, opened yesterday.

The concern about terrorism dominated the Summit as speaker after speaker underscored the need to fight terrorism unitedly, alongside securing food and energy security.

“The challenges of terrorism must be overcome for us to realise the potential of greater regional integration and greater economic integration,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai said.

India’s and Pakistan’s Prime Ministers too called for defending the value of pluralism from terrorism, and said a united fight was needed against violence if the region was to grow.

Terrorism is certainly one of the issues which for us is a very important part of the issues in the summit,” Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said.

“If we want to carry the SAARC’s economic and social agenda forward it’s essential that we manage to do this in an atmosphere free of violence.”

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani were due to meet later in the day to try and salvage the peace process.

Security problems are rocking other SAARC nations too.

While Afghanistan battles a resurgent Taliban and its effects singe Pakistan’s western borders, a long conflict drags in Sri Lanka.

Nepal still does not have a government and Bangladesh’s army-backed administration struggles to hold elections.