President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan is ready to work with all willing South Asian countries to promote trade, transit, energy connectivity, and people-to-people linkages so that development and prosperity for the entire region can be achieved.
He made these remarks in a message issued today, 8 December 2025, on the 40th anniversary of SAARC Charter Day. President Zardari said SAARC was founded in December 1985 in Dhaka with the understanding that South Asia’s future would be more secure and prosperous if regional countries worked together. He said Pakistan contributed to advancing this vision and hosted the fourth SAARC Summit during former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s tenure and later the twelfth summit.
The President noted that the 19th summit was scheduled to be held in Islamabad in 2016, but due to India’s absence, the process came to a halt, leaving SAARC inactive for the past 11 years. He said India’s attitude has obstructed regional cooperation, unnecessarily limiting peace and development. He added that some countries are now considering whether South Asia can afford further delays and proposed including key regional nations such as Iran and China in a new framework to strengthen connectivity, economic cohesion, and stability.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan is firmly committed to the principles and objectives of the SAARC Charter, and that genuine cooperation, sovereign equality, mutual respect, and constructive engagement can help unlock the region’s potential. The Prime Minister said mutual trust and cooperation are essential to tackling shared regional challenges such as poverty, climate-induced natural disasters, food and energy insecurity, and public health issues. He emphasized that only collective efforts can build a stable, peaceful, and prosperous South Asia, based on cooperation, connectivity, and the shared well-being of its people.
