'Pakistan's terror sank SAARC, not India': Ex-Foreign Secy slams Yunus' 'airy-fairy preachy talk'

Former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal has strongly responded to Bangladesh’s interim government head Muhammad Yunus, who suggested that India's reluctance had caused the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to fail. Sibal accused Yunus of making "self-serving distortions" and refuted his claims.

"A lot of self-serving distortions in this airy-fairy preachy talk," Sibal said in a response to Yunus's comments on SAARC. He added, "SAARC has withered away because of Pakistan's Kashmir bugbear, unwillingness to trade with India, deny it transit facilities, and sponsor terrorism against India."

Sibal further explained that the economic and political foundation of a regional organisation like SAARC had been rejected by Pakistan, which had repeatedly undermined its potential. "The economic and political basis of a regional organisation like SAARC was rejected by Pakistan," he said.

He also pointed to Bangladesh's role in hindering regional cooperation, criticising successive Bangladeshi governments for supporting anti-Indian insurgents and denying transit rights to India's northeast. "And by successive Bangladesh governments too, which harboured anti-Indian insurgents on its soil, denied transit rights to India’s northeast about which Yunus is doing smooth-talking," he added.

Sibal raised concerns over the failure of Bangladesh to control terrorism from Pakistan and illegal migration. "Free movement is fine but what about failure to control terrorists from Pakistan and illegal migration from Bangladesh?" he asked.

He also reminded Yunus that the sub-regional cooperation initiative, BBIN (Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and India), had already been pursued. "Yunus is misleading the interviewer about sub-regional cooperation. BBIN was precisely that," Sibal said. He pointed out that Bangladesh had allowed transit facilities for regional trade. "Sheikh Hasina allowed these transit facilities," he concluded.

Yunus earlier this week suggested the revival of SAARC to foster cooperation among South Asian nations, comparing it to the European Union model, where citizens could travel and do business without visas. He also proposed creating a "mini SAARC" involving Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and India's eastern states, which he argued would help landlocked regions access the Bay of Bengal for trade.