But the ambience for the better has not come about in a day. The processive outcome should guarantee its sustenance. The signs of thawing relations between Islamabad and New Delhi have been widely visible through the restorative process encompassing their diplomatic, communication and trade links snapped since the bombing of Indian parliament some two years ago. Auspiciously, just a few days ago, air flights have been resumed between Lahore and New Delhi raising the prospect for the surface communication links to be fully restored.

Fundamentally, the sea-change in the outlook of the two major players in the Saarc forum viz. India and Pakistan has been the most heartening development insofar as carrying forward the regional cooperation process goes. We have always said that the right kind of political will needs to be mustered between India and Pakistan to impact positively on the future of Saarc. And with them gone nuclear, it's very much a composite question of arms race, intra-regional security and siphoning off of huge potential resources that could go into developing starving social sectors in the poverty-stricken South Asian countries. Ideally, however, the Saarc would attain maturity when the summit will be held at regular intervals without being held ransom to the vagaries of relations between India and Pakistan.

So, the summit begins on a historic note in a material, rather than a rhetoric sense of the phrase. And what rhymes with this tenor is the fact that agreements on free trade, terrorism and a social charter reached at the foreign ministers' level are on the summit agenda for adoption in Islamabad Declaration. There better not be any looking back.