Attention of all member nations of South Asia is presently focused on the forthcoming 13th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, which will emphasize fighting terrorism.

The 13th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit will be held from Nov. 12-13 in Khaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

The SAARC, which has been combating poverty and backwardness of the region for the past decades, is faced with serious problem of terrorism which is posing a big threat to progress made in this region.

"Given the gravity of the terrorism issue, the leaders in the region are urgently required to make additional commitments in the forthcoming 13th SAARC summit regarding implementation of the recommendations regarding control of terrorism in the region as was stipulated in the 43-point declaration drawn up by the 12th SAARC summit," the SAARC secretariat said in a statement Sunday.

The collective commitment of the leaders in the region will further strengthen the regional solidarity against terrorism, the statement added.

Although no consensus was reached on the terrorism issue, the 12th SAARC summit, held in Islamabad in 2004, made a collective commitment towards controlling terrorism in the region which was explicitly stated in 29-point of the 43-point declaration.

Earlier, limited to a mere definition, leaders in the 12th SAARC summit unanimously ratified the United Nations' definition of terrorism which describes terrorist as group or person who resort to violent acts against the state or non-state power.

The SAARC summit was originally scheduled to be held in Dhaka on Jan. 9-11, but was postponed due to the impact of the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated the three member states -- Sri Lanka, India and the Maldives.

It was then rescheduled for Feb. 6-7, but was again canceled as India refused to attend it due to the political situation in Nepal and the security situation in Bangladesh.

SAARC was established in 1985 at a time when the world saw emergence of regional economic blocs to protect their respective interests against the dictates of multinational agencies.

It groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Source: Xinhua