National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and take bold steps to build peace with Pakistan, saying this would help India move forward on the global stage.
Abdullah made the remarks on Wednesday at the launch of journalist Shahid Siddiqui’s memoir “I, Witness: India from Nehru to Narendra Modi.” He pointed to the example of the recent meeting between Russia president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump, followed by Trump’s talks with European leaders and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Time has come when even our Prime Minister (Modi) has to take such steps that India can walk with the world for peace… Time has come to restart SAARC. We must take strong steps from our side and find the path to peace, for the peace of the whole world. The world has become very small, and if we cannot keep this small world with love, then this world will leave us,” said the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister.
SAARC, established in 1985, is a regional intergovernmental organisation and geopolitical union of South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, and Afghanistan.
Over the years, several projects and initiatives were launched under SAARC, but tensions between India and Pakistan repeatedly disrupted regional cooperation. The last SAARC summit was held in November 2014, more than a decade ago.
Acknowledging the challenges, the 87-year-old leader said only “hard steps can save our nation and shape the world.” He added that he would pray for the present government to take up this responsibility.
Reflecting on the 1947 Partition, Abdullah said the division between India and Pakistan planted seeds of hatred between Hindus and Muslims, leaving wounds that still linger. “Even today, after so many years of independence, 80 per cent of us still depend on the government to feed us. Look at China, once behind us, today ahead in every field. Why? Because they speak with one voice: one nation, we shall survive together. If you survive, I survive. If you do not, I do not. This tragedy must change,” he said.
Abdullah stressed that India should grow not through military strength or economic might, but through the “power of humanity.” “That we tell the world, this is not a world of threats. Gandhi is the light that shines upon the whole world,” he added.
The event also featured a discussion on Siddiqui’s book, where senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, and AAP MP Sanjay Singh praised the author’s commitment to truth and integrity, qualities they said had consistently shaped his work.
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