Take Steps To Restart SAARC, Pursue Peace: Farooq Abdullah

New Delhi : National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has called for the revival of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pursue peace with Pakistan and help India advance on the global stage.
Abdullah, who was speaking on Wednesday at the launch of journalist Shahid Siddiqui’s memoir “I, Witness: India from Nehru to Narendra Modi”, cited the example of recent meeting between Russia president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump, followed by the latter’s subsequent meeting of the European leaders and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Time has come when even our prime minister (Modi) has to take such steps that India can walk with the world for peace… Time has come to restart SAARC. We must take strong steps from our side and find the path to peace — for the peace of the whole world. The world has become very small, and if we cannot keep this small world with love, then this world will leave us,” said the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Established in 1985, SAARC is a regional intergovernmental organisation and geopolitical union of South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, and Afghanistan.
Despite the numerous projects and initiatives that emerged from SAARC meetings, tensions between India and Pakistan have periodically negatively impacted regional cooperation and SAARC-related activities.
It has been over a decade since the last SAARC summit was held in November 2014.
Though admitting that none of it would be easy, the 87-year-old leader emphasised that only “hard steps can save our nation and shape the world”.
He added that he would pray to the almighty for the current government to take up this responsibility.
Reflecting on the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan and the lasting wounds it inflicted, Abdullah said the division sowed hatred between Hindus and Muslims — a rift that has continued to harm the nation.
“Even today, after so many years of independence, 80 per cent of us still depend on the government to feed us. Look at China – once behind us, today ahead in every field. Why? Because they speak with one voice: one nation, we shall survive together. If you survive, I survive. If you do not, I do not. This tragedy must change,” he said.
Lastly, Abdullah stated that India as a nation should grow not because of military or economic power, but through the “power of humanity”.
“That we tell the world – this is not a world of threats. Gandhi is the light that shines upon the whole world,” he concluded.
Abdullah’s address was followed by a discussion on Siddiqui’s book, during which the panelists — senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, Lok Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh — praised the author’s commitment to truth and integrity, which they noted have been consistently reflected in his writings all these years.
The book, published by Rupa and priced at Rs 795, is available for sale across online and offline stores. (Agencies)