ISLAMABAD: From food to furniture to fashion, all products displayed at the four-day Alishan Pakistan – the second edition of the lifestyle Pakistan exhibition in New Delhi – were sold out in the first three days of the event that began on September 11.
The Hidustan Times, while discussing the response to the exhibition, stated that traders and businessmen from Pakistan felt that no matter how the diplomatic ties were between the two nations, the common man in both countries had no hatred against each other.
“The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan organised the expo comprising 260 stalls, which received an unprecedented response from the people of India as all products were sold on the first three days of the event,” said Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry former vice president Hameed Akhtar Chadda.
“Pakistan-made products, especially women’s clothing, have now become very popular in India because of their high quality,” said Chadda, who was also one of the participants of the expo.
He explained that women’s clothing and fabric had become a hot item since a large number of Indian women thronged the stalls and purchased them on cash payments.
The exhibition showcased Pakistan’s top-quality textiles, including high-end designer wear, and that was not the only item, furniture was also exhibited, he said.
The lifestyle expo was first held in April 2012 in New Delhi.
“With a trade potential of billions of dollars between the two countries, the event not only offered a unique opportunity to the trade community of India to interact with their Pakistani counterparts but also gave a first-hand opportunity to the customers to feel and own best-quality products,” he said.
He said the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry and Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry besides the Indian government provided best facilities to the Pakistani participants.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2014.
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@Asad: But have you ever thought why Indians hate pakistan and also people from other countries have negative perception about pakistan. All people can't be on same page without any reason.
Pakistan has restrictive trade regime gsin d ll countries except Chin. It is high time Pakist s n looks st its own intersts.
Please allow response to someone who has written to me.
@Economist: I am not a Pakistani man, I am an Indian woman.
Secondly, India has been denied MFN not other countries including China, so cometitive pressures can come from there also. I was just pointing out the logical fallacy of the specific nature of benefit that the article associated for MFN to India. I do not oppose it and recognoze it has benefits - just not the one mentioned.
@Asad: Indians do not hate Pakistan. Many if not most Indians started bisiting Pakistani websites after 26/11 to understand what drives hatred towards India. When we find factual inaccuracies in the narrative, certainly we make it a point o correct them.
There maybe a couple of people who are nasty but for many of the Indians, the oal is to correct the false narratives.
@Blunt: Yeah ! all responsibility lies on the shoulders of India while Basit can continue behaving like a spoilt child.
@INDIAN: hmm...wonder why India still relies on importing mechanized items from defence to trade !!!
@Gp65:
The granting of MFN status to India has a lot to do with developing economic trade and investments. MFN status to India will be the first sign of economic liberalization, and will make Pakistan appear in a different - and attractive - light for potential investing companies in India. They will seek collaboration with Pakistani partners and set up joint ventures in Pakistan that will generate tax revenue for the government and create jobs for locals. The MFN status for India will also make Pakistani companies face pressure because they will be forced to innovate and make products that can compete against Indian products which, as you rightly said, can become expensive, though the reason for the higher prices lies elsewhere, namely, in the third country routes for shipments (via Dubai) adding freight and other costs. I have met many Pakistani businesspeople at international venues and the big lamentation I hear from them is that there is an inbuilt psychological mental block within Pakistan created by mullahs, military and the politicians who, for their own selfish personal gains, have made sure that the public is brainwashed and any mention of India raises the bogey of domination by the latter. But the fact is, Sir, that India has absolutely no interest in having any intention of dominating Pakistan; also, an unstable, fragmented and Wahabi-run Pakistan can mean self-destruct and such undesirable developments can only cause headaches for its neighbours (which besides India also include Afghanistan, Iran, etc.). Why are Pakistanis so brainwashed with this nonsense? Don't you have intelligent people who can question the rubbish taught to school children through the vicious propaganda in text books? Don't you have any nation builders who long for peace, harmony and prosperity for the people who have been denied opportunities since the birth of the country 65 years ago and who deserve some progress in their lives? @ Blunt You are right -- talks between the two foreign secretaries should have been held, but please tell me why did your high commissioner, who despite being warned against meeting Kashmiri separatists in Delhi, go ahead and met these fringe characters who are held in low esteem by the Kashmiris themselves? Was it not a provocation? How would the Pakistani government react if the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad invited Baluchi separatists for a meeting before the talks? Would you have an answer? I don't think so.
I think both sides have to be conscious of each other's sensitivities if any progress is to be made. Incidentally, China has had a brief border conflict with India but Chinese pragmatism has been evident in Delhi with the arrival of President Xi who has realized (despite being Pakistan's so-called "all-weather friend") that opportunities lie with India. There is even talk of forming an economic free market which is being touted as "Chindia Economic Community" though this is the future sound of music. We have to see what will become of the Chindia factor but the signs are promising and bilateral trade currently at $ 70 bn is expected to rise to $ 100 bn in a year and progressively to $ 150 bn and $ 200 bn in the next five years. Isn't that quality relationship? Pakistan and India share the same culture, language and food -- why don't they work out a similar relationship? Like @Indian Observer and @Sach Bhol have said above -- the ball is now in Pakistan's court!
@sharabi .. what is stopping peace to prevail ? other than 'strategic assets' that Indians cry about all the time, I think what also stops peace from prevailing is Indian readers spitting their unlimited hatred for Pakistanis on our websites 24/7, 365 days a year. please give it a thought, if you would like to.
Pakistan manufactures low technology items like clothing and handbags whereas India manufactures highly complex machinery, pharmaceuticals, IT etc. Pakistan can never produce such items so now they are discovering the price of partition with the technologically advanced India.
@Indian Observer@Sach Bhol Thanks for your critical analysis for the situation. While I do agree with majority of the points raised but remember that peace and normality is in the mutual benefit and can only prevail in the situation of mutual cooperation and efforts. For that reason some responsibility also lies on the shoulders of India. In this context, canceling the diplomatic dialogue with Pakistan on Foreign secretarial level is not going to help either.
@Fahad Izhar "No one can stop for peace to prevail." what about Strategic assets?
All this is OK... this is not important for pakistanis... kashmir is most important.
While the whole world is queuing up to tap in on the large consumer market in India, Pakistani establishment is still mired in its strategic depth policy, where India is an enemy which needs to be countered in land, sea and air. Please give up this mentality. One of the reasons that the present government is in trouble is that it wants better ties with India.
It is a pity that same Mullah culture in India tried to stop this exhibition. We look our own problems in others account. What if India realize that it should have friendly relation with Pakistan , No one can stop for peace to prevail.
@Indian Observer: As you rightly said Ondia has already granted MFN status to Pakistan. How will Pakistan granting India MFN status increase Pakistani exports to India? What it will do is allow Pakistan to import those things directly from India such as life saving drugsat an afordable price which currently import through Dubai thereby paying much higher price. Products which are cheaper inIndia, if ghey are allowed, it will lower inflation in Pakistan.
@Indian Observer:
Thanks for that excellent advice in the interest of bilateral trade and economic ties. It is now up to the Pakistani civilians and business community to ACT and not just be a helpless spectator to the mass plunder of the country's precious and limited resources by the politicians, military and the fanatic clergy, all of whom have contributed to leading the country in the wrong direction with the terminal self-destruction and fragmentation. It is time for the docile and brain-washed public to ACT and not just spew venom and hateful propaganda against India which does not have any designs or intentions to cause any harm to Pakistan. Trade and business with India will strengthen Pakistan which is usually portrayed in the international media as a nation of beggars, cut-throat scamsters and evil extremists who for their personal gain and agenda are lying and cheating the nation, and are only interested in their self-interest. Can you change that? It's worth trying. What more can you possibly lose?
It's a shame that Pakistan's export trade is being deprived of precious forex earnings in the world's largest market with a large middle class with huge spending power. Pakistani exporters should prevail upon their government and impress upon their mullahs and military (the last two are the big problems in the way of Pakistan's economic development) to stop terrorist activities on Pakistani soil because if there is even the slightest problem with India, he doors will be shut forever to Pakistan's export trade and will hit it very hard because the entire world is already shunning Pakistani exporters. Pakistan's textile and apparel trade, for example, is going through a miserable time as traditional Western buyers refuse to visit Pakistan because of security concerns. Also, Pakistan would take the first important step to normalizing trade relations with India by granting it the MFN status which India, on its part, has already granted Pakistan many years back. The ball is in Pakistan's court. If it does not act swiftly to dismantle the terrorist network on its soil and stop the hate propaganda that starts with children's text books, then it will be the big loser not India.