Conflicts blight India-Pakistan summit:

A thaw in relations between India and Pakistan is bringing a sense of relief to South Asia, but leaders of other nations, who gathered in Islamabad yesterday for their first summit in two years, are still grappling with conflicts.

The peace process in Sri Lanka's long-running civil war is sputtering, Maoist-inspired rebels in Nepal control one-third of the country, and even the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has ordered its Army into action, fighting Indian rebels using its territory.

The volatility undercuts the hopes of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation summit, which brings the leaders of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan together in the Pakistan capital with the aim of increasing economic co-operation and improving the lives of millions of people.