At least 150 Pakistani firms are showcasing their products in New Delhi to woo strong middle-class market of 600 million people with at least $12,000 per capita income in India. At least 320 stalls have been set up at the ‘Aalishan Pakistan’ exhibition besides holding an art exhibition at the sidelines of the event in which young Pakistani artists will participate. A fashion show and a seminar have also been arraigned to allow the businessmen of the two countries to discuss ways and means to enhance mutual trade and investment. A delegation of high-profile Pakistani businessmen is taking part in the exhibition to effectively launch a trade offensive against India after the New Delhi government had cancelled foreign secretary level talks between the two countries.
The Pakistan-India subcontinent is probably the only region in the world where armies of the two countries have been put on high alert — facing eyeball-to-eyeball — since independence. The region with 1.5 billion population is still volatile and border skirmishes have become a routine matter and any little mistake or misunderstanding can bring unspeakable catastrophe to the region. Both the nations have fought three wars but now they ought to learn the principles of co-existence, peace and harmony. It is possible to change the enemy but not a neighbour and if the leadership of the two countries wants to live in peace, it should work together to enhance trade and investment. Trade is the only option left for the countries to pacify the highly charged passions.
India is a big country and has to show flexibility on Kashmir and water issues to enhance mutual trust which will not only be beneficial for Pakistan and India, but also for the entire region. If peace prevails in this region, it can become the largest economic bloc in the world with China, Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asian States on the westward and Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka on the eastward. If India wants to eye on a bright future for its nation, it has to forget bitter past and help Pakistan resolve the Kashmir issue which is the stumbling block in establishing good relations between the peoples of the two countries.
On its part, though India has granted Pakistan the status of the most favored nation, but Islamabad could not reap the benefit of this move as the Pakistani products still face hurdles in the Indian market. The Pakistani government was under tremendous pressure to cancel the exhibition after India called off foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan. However, the government went ahead with its plan and is now also seeking approval from parliament to grant non-discriminatory market access to India.
