2016 · GS Paper 2 · Q19 · 12 marks
"Increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in India and growing interference in the internal affairs of several member-states by Pakistan are not conducive for the future of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)." Explain with suitable examples.
In short
Pakistan-based cross-border terrorism and Pakistan's meddling in Afghanistan and Bangladesh have destroyed the trust SAARC needs, leaving the grouping stalled. After the Uri attack in 2016, five members boycotted the Islamabad summit, and no SAARC summit has been held since Kathmandu in 2014.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 274 words
Repeated attacks
Mumbai (2008), Pathankot and Uri (2016) were traced to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed operating from Pakistani soil, destroying the trust cooperation needs.
Dead-letter conventions
The 1987 SAARC anti-terror convention and its 2004 protocol on terror financing remain largely unenforced.
Summit freeze and trade loss
No summit has met since Kathmandu (2014), and after Pulwama (2019) India withdrew Pakistan's MFN status, hollowing out SAFTA.
Afghanistan
Kabul blamed the Haqqani network for the 2008 Indian embassy bombing, and Ashraf Ghani accused Pakistan of sheltering terrorists at Amritsar in 2016.
Bangladesh
Pakistan's National Assembly condemned the 2013 execution of a 1971 war criminal, and Islamabad recalled a diplomat accused of funding militants in 2015.
Nepal's soil misused
The 1999 IC-814 hijacking from Kathmandu showed Pakistan-based groups using a neighbour's territory against India.
Blocking connectivity
Pakistan stalled the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement in 2014, and intra-regional trade stays near 5% of South Asia's total, as per the World Bank.
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2016 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.