Pakistan, India urged to open border for trade

European envoys highlight pact between their countries, a possible path to peace

ISLAMABAD: The nuclear-tipped, hostile neighbours Pakistan and India have been advised to learn from the peace measures taken by two, warring, European neighbours around 56 years ago: open up borders for trade and commerce.

This was suggested by French Ambassador Marc Baréty and German Ambassador Martin Kobler in a joint news conference at the Islamabad Press Club on Tuesday.

The two diplomats shared the stage to highlight the pact between Germany and France from January 22, 1963. Baréty said that the two neighbouring European nations were also entering a new pact on Tuesday which was being signed in Germany which would update the old pact as per the needs and demands of the modern era.

He added that this was a difficult time for the European Union as well, with Britain on the verge of exiting the bloc and that they had to keep this in their minds as well.



Returning to the pact, Baréty said that the 1963 agreement changed the nature of ties between the two countries which had faced each other in two devastating world wars.

Kobler said that in the aftermath of the second world war, the leadership of both their countries had felt the massive losses brought by it, in terms of economy and lives.

With war firmly not an option, Kobler said they started bilateral dialogue. This resulted in a burgeoning friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Later, the pact offered bountiful fruits for the next generation which worked to unite the whole of Europe.

Dilating on the updated pact being signed by Germany, Kobler said that the new agreement is for cooperation in different fields and values and added that it would help devise a mutual stance on Brexit.

It is high time we make international borders safe and secure, he said, adding that basic facilities such as education and health should be available on either side for residents of border areas.

In the instant case of Pakistan and India, which are hostile neighbours and share one of the longest fenced and monitored border in the world, Kobler suggested creating trading zones on either side to foster trust.

With his escapades around the country popular on social media, Kobler pointed to his recent visit to the Kartarpur border area, where Pakistan intends to build a corridor for Sikh yatrees. However, he lamented that India was also doing minimal work on this corridor.

Baréty, the diplomat, responded to a question by stating that while they could not interfere in Islamabad and New Delhi’s bilateral relations since both countries are sovereign and independent, however, both neighbours know how they could take their relations forward.

The French ambassador added that they could only narrate their experience and hope that relations between Pakistan and India should be enhanced in mutual, economic and public interest.

War, they said, was something which makes them empathetic towards Pakistan and India.

Baréty said that his grandfather fought two while his father one war. Kobler chimed in by saying that his father was twice injured in a war when he was just 17-years old.

“Our past is full of hostile incidents,” he said, adding that India and Pakistan could learn from their experiences.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2019.