Terror a cancer,says PM

While describing terrorism as a cancer that could consume the whole of South Asia,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called upon SAARC countries to resolve.

While describing terrorism as a cancer that could consume the whole of South Asia,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called upon SAARC countries to resolve their differences peacefully and develop the culture of solving our problems ourselves.

Singh,who was delivering the inaugural address at the Fifth Conference of Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians at the Central Hall of Parliament,said,The scourge of terrorism has taken a huge toll on all our societies. It is a cancer that if not checked,will consume us all. I would like to believe that we have the will and foresight to prevent such an outcome.

The participants in the four-day conference include Speakers of Parliaments of all eight member-countries,including Afghanistan,a recent entrant.

South Asia cannot realise its full potential unless the region solves its differences peacefully, he said. We must learn to speak with one voice on the common challenges that face us, he added.

South Asia,he said,perhaps had the most youthful population. We can reap a rich demographic dividend if we can equip our youth with the right skills, he said. Disaffection and alienation provide a fertile breeding ground for intolerance,violence and terrorism which threaten our societies and rupture the social fabric.

He said all countries in South Asia were faced with problems of mass poverty,unemployment,lack of adequate health care,illiteracy and environmental degradation. We should reinforce each others efforts to deal with these challenges, he said. Our destinies are bound by history as well as by geography, he said,stressing,If we act with wisdom and sagacity,we all stand to benefit.

Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi,Speaker of the Wolesa Jirga of Afghanistan,said: I would like to inform you of trade and transit problems between India and Afghanistan and some parts of the world in Pakistan and I hope our Pakistani friends pay serious attention in this regard. Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza,who spoke later,however,did not join the issue with him.

Story continues below this ad

Ibrahimi also made another indirect reference to Pakistan by referring to external interference in his country and solicited co-operation from SAARC countries in solving problems of Afghans. He said unfortunately the problems of landlocked countries were not taken care of by their neighbours.