Afghanistan, China and Japan welcomed

As for China, even without elaborating it one can guess the sensibilities of the two major players in Saarc on the proposition, and credit goes to Bangladesh diplomacy for making the package palatable to both parties by the inclusion of Japan for the observer status in the same breath. That Japan and China have evinced keen interest in the grouping must also be highly gratifying for the Saarc member-states. China and Japan can indeed play an important role in making Saarc a vibrant and potent regional platform by virtue of interacting with the two biggest economies of Asia. Saarc can look to new horizons of economic cooperation with the outside world. It is quite in keeping with the policy of opening up -- an integral part of the idea of viewing vital issues from the standpoint of globalisation.

The inclusion of Afghanistan as a member of Saarc, in principle, is a due recognition of the cultural and historical ties, as mentioned by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that the country shares with the region. It has been passing through a nagging political turmoil under foreign occupation which must now end. We hope too, that democracy will be restored in the country, which has already paid a heavy price through destabilisation and alien occupation. The membership of Saarc should give Afghanistan a new sense of bonding with its South Asian neighbours. And Saarc as a regional platform should be able to do its bit in mitigating the sufferings of Afghan people.

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The expansion of Saarc has to be seen as more than a routine exercise. The strength of any such grouping often lies in diversity. Saarc is rightly looking beyond the frontiers of South Asia to work with countries that are important for very substantial reasons.