Without diluting its stated position on Kashmir, Pakistan on Thursday articulated a desire to recalibrate its relationship with India that has hinged on hostility till date. Arguing that three wars with and perennial hostility towards India had not achieved any results on outstanding issues, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar made out a case for giving trade and peace a chance.
Briefing mediapersons here on foreign policy initiatives, Ms. Khar was bombarded with questions on the rationale behind normalising trade relations with India by moving towards granting Most Favoured Nation status to a country regarded as ‘Enemy No. 1'.
Steadfast response
And, she was steadfast in her responses; maintaining that the current government had been striving hard to improve relations with all its neighbours without being selective. Referring to the Cabinet's decision to switchover from a positive list to a negative list approach for trade with India, she said this would be mutually beneficial and reflected the priority the government attached to the economic development of Pakistan. “We want to work the geo-economics of the region to our advantage.”
Stating that South Asia was the worst performer in regional cooperation and connectivity, Ms. Khar time and again said that normalising trade relations with India in no way meant that Pakistan had diluted its position on Kashmir. “We will continue to engage in meaningful dialogue with India on all issues simultaneously.”
Jinnah's vision
Asked about Pakistan's earlier position that trade with India would be normalised only after there was positive movement from India on Kashmir, the Minister shot back: “If the vision of Mohammad Ali Jinnah is anything to go by, he had bequeathed us normal trade relations with India and that remained the case till 1965.” She maintained that there was a good case for improving ties with India.
Referring to the keenness on both sides to pursue dialogue, Ms. Khar said: “In the past few months, we have been able to build a degree of trust and let us give this track some time. We gave 40 years to war and hostilities and it has not yielded results on Kashmir. Let us give time to this track or do you want to continue with hostilities for another 40 years?”
Of the view that Pakistan had been bogged down by the history of the past 60 years, Ms. Khar sought to dispel the notion that only Pakistan was making concessions while India had not yielded an inch. About the Non-Tariff Barriers that India has, she said three memoranda of understanding had been signed during the Indian Commerce Minister's visit to dismantle them. Also, she flagged the fact that India had dropped its opposition to the time-bound European Union waiver on trade preferences that was offered to Pakistan to help it recover from the devastating floods of 2010.”
Keywords: India-Pakistan trade ties, MFN status, WTO, Cross-LoC trade
Vijay, this is the first time that words have been accompanied by real actions. What can you do about Lashkar? They've been around for 12 years, and what has hostility done? Instead, normalizing relations with Pakistan in other fields may reap benefits on the Kashmir front - so I totally agree with Mrs. Khar.
All of India will benefit, but especially East Punjab - where everyone wants peace, and the ability to cross the border. Look how close Ferozepure and Kasuri are, or Amritsar and Lahore. The potential for cross-border trade is HUGE. Slowing down this warming of ties will hurt Punjabis the most - followed by Gujuratis.
Is this the first time such a statement has come from Pakistan. Will they agree to withdrawal of
forces for POK? Can they ban Lashkar? This is just an attempt to take
moral high-ground. Let see if
they reflect their words? Then we decide which way to proceed.
Irrespective of which side the balance of trade is skewed towards, people on both sides are likely to benefit from this move. There is tremendous potential for huge trade in commodities, agri-goods, service etc. Freer and easier Trade with neighbours was reason enough for the Europeans to give up independent currencies, and till the recent crisis, was a key driver in economic growth for Europe. South Asia is no different - Why drive to a Walmart far away to buy sugar when your neighbourhood kiranawala can give you a better deal?
Good augury. Even political issues can be solved, given trust and
goodwill, which have been lacking in our relations so far. We may even
find a modus vivendi for the tricky Kashmir issue if we move along the
peace path.. Good luck and Godspeed to both EA Ministers.
It is good that Pakistan has decided to have good relations with India after reliasing that "perennial hostility towards India had not achieved any results on outstanding issues".
This is a welcome move by the Government of Pakistan. Trade relations between two countries would create the good popsitive environment to discuss Kashmir and other bilateral issues which cannot be done in the atmosphere of mistrust and hatered. Trade will also open up the avenues for both the countries to come closer to work for common interests such as removel of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy etc.
The stand-off relations in Trade between the two countries has not
done any good to either. Being next-door neighbors both can benefit not only in terms of saving on transportation and incidental expenses but also as baseline for goodwill and cordial relations. It is a good thought not to mix up Kashmir or other issues with trade. Pragmatic is how I would term Pakistan's fresh parallel approach.
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