Two-day SAARC summit closes

KATHMANDU, Jan 6 (AFP) - The seven-member South Asian grouping closed a two-day summit here Sunday that was overshadowed by Indian-Pakistani tension, after adopting two conventions on protecting women and children. Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba announced the close of the summit, the 11th for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The summit ended with a joint declaration that called for social and economic development for the impoverished region and for each country to adopt measures against terrorism. "We are convinced that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is a challenge to humanity and it constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," Deuba said in a closing speech. The summit included a dramatic gesture Saturday by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who extended his hand on stage to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and said he wanted dialogue with India. Vajpayee shook his hand but responded by warning Pakistan that such gestures should be followed by deeds in the form of a sustained crackdown on Islamic militant groups. The two countries' foreign ministers met informally for about an hour Saturday, sources here said, but India insisted the discussions did not centre on bilateral issues. The 12th summit of SAARC -- which groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- will be held in Pakistan in 2003. Exact dates are to be decided later. The Kathmandu summit was delayed by two years because of bickering between the bloc's two nuclear-armed giants.