ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday said that terrorism has caused about 80 billion dollars economic loss to Pakistan, as he urged the SAARC states to jointly fight this global menace in their own region.Opening the three day conference of the Association of SAARC speakers and parliamentarians at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Sunday, he also called upon the SAARC parliaments to play their role for forging better bilateral relations and addressing interstate and regional issues.Speakers and parliamentarians of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldivies are attending the three days conference that would discuss steps to promote parliamentary diplomacy, joint efforts to ensure food security, trade and economic development, narcotics trafficking and terrorism.After inaugurating the conference, President Zardari spoke informally to the media and smilingly avoided giving direct answers to queries on Supreme Court’s verdicts regarding his holding of two offices and the Asghar Khan case. Zardari said that he had been through a lot of this in past and read the couplet “Aage Dekhye Badlta ha Aasman rang kaise kaise” (Let’s see what future has in store for us).Addressing the inauguration ceremony, the president said Pakistan is committed to the Charter of SAARC and believes that durable peace in the region is in the interest of all. He said the region should adopt a collective approach to face the common challenges and explore the opportunities for the benefit of our peoples.President Zardari said the SAARC parliaments should plan and lead efforts for solving complex issues. He said by protecting political liberties, human freedoms and rule of law, the parliaments can promote regional peace and security. He said cultural affinity and shared history are great assets and “we must exploit these assets for further developing the bonds of friendships”.He urged the regional countries to join hands to fight the menace of extremism and terrorism. He said no country has suffered so much from the menace as Pakistan. He said we have lost more than 40,000 innocent lives, besides suffering economic loss of about 80 billion dollars. He also said there is a need to address the issue of drug trafficking which is the main financial source for militancy.Emphasising upon greater people to people contacts between the regional countries, the president said dialogue among the SAARC parliamentarians will have long lasting and positive impact on the regional situation and help achieve the ideals of peace and stability. Pointing out that SAARC has a population of 1.6 billion, he said SAARC parliaments should come up with a strategy to ensure food security for the region.Referring to democratic transition in South Asia, President Zardari said democracy is a prerequisite for economic development and political stability. Strong parliaments play crucial role in ushering in reforms and ensuring efficiency and transparency. He said the government in Pakistan has taken bold decisions to empower the parliament; an elected government is nearing its term completion and “soon we will achieve a peaceful democratic transition”. “We are well on our way to realising democracy’s dividends.”In her welcome address, Chairperson of the Conference and Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Fehmida Mirza highlighted the themes of the Sixth Conference of the association. She said the conference will deliberate upon participatory democracy and food security. She said women have an important role to strengthen democratic norms and women parliamentarians during a meeting today have agreed to establish a regional network for empowerment of women.She emphasised the need for expanding the scope of the Association of SAARC speakers and parliamentarians to address the daunting issues of poverty, unemployment, food security, terrorism and shrinking economic opportunities. She said SAARC parliament should be formed to build consensus on multiple challenges faced by the region.Indian Lok Sabha Speaker Ms Meira Kumar said that being representatives of the people, the parliamentarians should play proactive role to meet the expectations of their people. She said increased interaction amongst the member countries will help them learn from each other’s experiences and find solutions of daunting challenges. She said we need to protect and uphold the democratic institutions and hoped the conference will come up with concrete suggestions for protection of parliamentary democracy in the region.In his remarks, Bangladesh Speaker Abdul Wahid said democracy is a prerequisite for peace and development in the region and hoped the current session of the association will go a long way in further strengthening democracy in the region. Speaker of Bhuttan said the three-day deliberations will provide an excellent opportunity to the member countries to share their success stories and knowledge about parliamentary democracy.Speaker of Maldives, Abdullah Shahid said democracy needs to be strengthened to address the problems of the people. He said cooperation amongst the member countries is imperative to address the challenges. Deputy Speaker of Sri Lanka, emphasised the need for empowerment of youth and women. Earlier, the speakers of the SAARC countries held a meeting with President Zardari and discussed ways and means to further enhance people to people contacts.Indian Lok Sabha Speaker Ms Meira Kumar later called on President Zardari. The president told her that Pakistan would continue to play a proactive role to make SAARC a vibrant regional organisation, as regional cooperation was an important engine of prosperity. He said that changing political and economic landscape has enhanced the role of the SAARC parliaments, which are now well placed to plan and lead efforts for solving tricky issues besetting the region.Briefing about this meeting, Spokesperson to the President, Senator Farhatullah Babar said that matters regarding further promoting SAARC role in various fields, increased contacts of parliamentarians, regional issues and Pak-India bilateral relations were discussed. He quoted the president as saying that SAARC could play an important role in bringing the people of the members’ states together by promoting investment, trade and people to people contacts.The president said that the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians was a vital instrument for promoting contacts between the peoples and thereby enhancing the regional cooperation. The president said that need for regional cooperation has never been as great as it is today to meet the emerging challenges of ever-growing population of the region.Discussing Pak-India bilateral relations, President Zardari said that Pakistan was committed to a constructive, sustained and result oriented process of engagement with India and reiterated his call for the two countries to make determined efforts for friendly, cooperative and good neighbourly relations. He expressed satisfaction that the resumed dialogues between the two countries are progressing.The president said that Pakistan was keen to promote greater interaction between the parliamentarians from both countries and noted that high level visits have significantly improved the atmosphere between the two countries. He expressed the hope that bilateral parliamentary exchanges will continue in the future, which he said would help build mutual trust and understanding.Zardari said that finding amicable and just solutions to resolve all outstanding issues was important for Pakistan and India to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region. He said the South Asia region has enormous potential and cooperation between the two countries was imperative to exploit this potential.The president recalled his recent two meetings with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, one on the sidelines 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at Tehran and second in New Delhi during his visit to Ajmer Sharif. He said that he was deeply touched by the warm hospitality extended to him at New Delhi and Ajmer Sharif. The president also recalled his meeting with ex-prime minister of India Mr Rjiv Gandhi during fourth SAARC Summit held in Islamabad in December, 1988.Ms Meira Kumar thanked the president for meeting and conveyed best wishes of the Indian leadership and people for the government and people of Pakistan. She said that her country desired good friendly relations with Pakistan and wanted to work together in coping with the common challenges and issues. The spokesperson said that Indian Lok Sabha Speaker lauded President Zardari for his visionary leadership and sagacity in nourishing democracy in the country.Ms Meira Kumar was accompanied by Rajya Sabha (upper house of Indian parliament) Deputy Chairman Prof PJ Kurien, Lok Sabha Secretary General Mr TK Viswanathan and Indian High Commissioner Mr Sharat Sabharwal. From Pakistan side, Chairman Senate Nayyer Husain, NA Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza, Deputy Speaker Mr. Faisal Karim Kundi, MOS for foreign affairs, Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan, Farhatullah Babar and others attended the meeting.