Pakistan and Saarc spirit
Sadat Ali Khan, Pakistan
The Saarc summit ended in New Delhi. A joint statement has been issued and a rosy picture has been painted. The leaders have promised many wonderful things. Let me point it out that when Pakistan was created in 1947 by dividing the British-ruled India, there was no mention or discussion of any cooperation between the emerging countries.The eastern wing of Pakistan separated from West Pakistan to become Bangladesh in 1971. First, the language issue was a stumbling block. The East Pakistanis believed that the western wing and its leaders were trying to impose the Urdu language on them. The biggest problem at that time was disparity. The disparity between West Pakistan and East Pakistan. West Pakistan, especially Karachi, was industrialised because of the fact that many businessmen and industrialists from India moved to Karachi. Most head offices of the banks and industries were based in Karachi. This led towards the separation of the two wings. The autocratic General Yahya Khan of Pakistan didn't know what he was doing. He unleashed a horrendous crackdown on innocent Bengali people. Language and culture were the cause of the disintegration of Pakistan and Saarc can't fill this gap.
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