It is a foregone conclusion that congenial relations with neighbours is a must. And, especially, in an era of globalisation and where technology has minimised distance hassles, trade and tourism are the driving forces in inter-state relations. This is why French statesman Napoleon Bonaparte believed that one cannot change borders and has to learn to live with neighbours. The humble submission from India’s Deputy High Commissioner Suresh Kumar that India is eager for trade relations with Pakistan, and wants to move forward by normalising business ties is a welcome gesture. But the point is that he went on to blame Islamabad for severing trade relations, and that aspect is in need of being scrutinised in the right spirit of history.
It is current memory that the Modi government abrogated the special status of Jammu & Kashmir on August 5, 2019 by repealing Article 370 and 35-A of the Indian constitution, and that is the reason Islamabad went on to suspend trade relations with Delhi. Nothing can stay afloat as long as peace and security is threatened, and the imbroglio in Kashmir is one of the biggest threats to the region and beyond, as both the nuclear powers sit at the brink of confrontation. India should see the biggest picture too and realise that it is Pakistan that shifted its goal post in the region from moving from geopolitics to geo-economics. It is willing to trade with India, and also extend the cooperation to various vistas of public diplomacy. But that is only possible if the lingering Kashmir dispute is addressed in all sincerity.
Kumar’s underscoring on tourism, trade and technology is a valuable premise, and can work for collective good. The bilateral trade surely is in need of being buoyed, and so is people-to-people contacts in the realms of businesses, literature, tourism and filmdom. Again, that is only possible if the present hawkism comes to an end, and India which has unnecessarily put in the Hindutva otherness, puts it away. The enterprising nations are in need of a fair deal, and the first step desired is to start talking without any preconditions.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2023.
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