Pakistan and India need to get on the road to peace

The announcement that MFN status won't be granted to India is not only puzzling, it is baffling.

Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, in a mature move, has called for de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, following attacks along the Line of Control (LoC). The PM’s remarks come even as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stresses that for the two countries to have improved relations, Pakistan stop the use of its territory for “anti-India” activities. This follows from an earlier, more belligerent, statement from Indian President Pranab Mukherjee that “patience has its limits”.

Such comments from India have, of course, flown freely as accusations of attacks and reports of firing along the Line of Control have come in. However, even as India has stepped up anti-Pakistan rhetoric following this, Pakistan, under the Nawaz Administration, is stressing on peace through “restraint and responsibility”. Given that years of hostility have done nothing for peace and progress of either country and the region, this must be commended.

PM Sharif, of course, has a reputation, based upon his previous track record in office, of being strongly in favour of improving relations with India. He also has a reputation for being the closest thing Pakistan has to an economic liberal. Hence, the recent announcement by his administration that Islamabad will not be granting Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India is not only puzzling, it is outright baffling.

This would amount to reversing what little progress was made by the previous administration and South Asia may be on the verge of losing one of its best chances at establishing a lasting peace in more than a decade.

The far right on both sides must not be allowed to succeed in changing the conversation from one about possible avenues of collaboration to one about nationalistic displays of machismo. Politicians seem to have forgotten that the unfortunate border skirmishes place upon them a responsibility to calm tensions, not stoke them even further. Yet, the lessons of the previous decades seem lost upon the political class — and some segments of the media — on both sides.

We doubt the PM needs reminding, but we feel compelled to point out to the administration that free trade with India benefits Pakistan far more than it benefits India. And granting MFN status to a country only means that we pledge not to discriminate against their products, compared with our imports from any other part of the world. It does not grant India any special privileges. It simply compels us to treat them fairly.

But beyond the semantics, the logic of free trade between India and Pakistan is self-evident. Here are just some of the many ways in which the two countries could benefit from freer trade. India has a vast surplus of cheap hydroelectric power during the summer months, just when the gap between supply and demand is at its absolute peak in Pakistan. The vast bulk of this hydroelectric power generation capacity lies in the northern part of India, closest to Pakistan. Need we say more?

India is also a rapidly growing economy that has massive infrastructure needs. Building infrastructure requires cement, and Pakistani cement manufacturers have a large surplus capacity. It is true that India also has plenty of cement, but it is cheaper for an Indian bridge in Rajasthan to be built with cement from Chakwal than it is for them to get it from West Bengal. The opportunity is obvious.

And did we mention that vegetables grow in staggered seasons on both sides of the border? That means that the vast fluctuations in food prices would not happen if food could move freely across the border. The single biggest consequence of liberalising trade would be cheaper food, which is the easiest way to improve the economic condition of the average Pakistani household. Even in this, the PM should stick to his policy of restraint and responsibility with regard to relations with India. The people of this country will, quite sensibly, pick cheaper food over jingoistic nationalism any day. He should respect that choice.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2013.

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