Pakistan & SAARC

Pakistan is located in South Asia. Other countries in this region include Pakistan’s arch rival India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Bhutan. These countries are also part of a bloc called SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) which was established in 1985. While Afghanistan was included as  full member in 2006, Iran, China and Myanmar are seeking full member status in the bloc. After Sub Saharan Africa, South Asia is the poorest region in the world with a large percentage of the population living below the poverty line. Quarter of the world’s poor population is living in Africa while half is in South Asia alone. South Asia is amongst the least integrated region in the world according to a World Bank report published in 2007. In South Asia, trade amongst the countries  is only 2% of the region’s combined GDP while on the other hand in East Asia it is 20%. These countries are still competing with each other globally, due to similar mindset of the ruling elite, similar climatic conditions and soil composition. These countries have however have hostilities against each other despite having close proximity and common borders.