Pakistan and India have been at the loggerheads for the last 67 years whereas the warring countries in the World War II have sent the past in the past and have become friends by establishing strong economic relations among them. The instance of Japan is before us, which braved nuclear blasts from the United States, but both the countries turned their enmity into friendship by establishing economic and trade relations. The whole Europe was at warwith one another but now it is acting as a one country with single currency. India and Pakistan are the two countries in the same region and dominate the wholeSouth Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). As a matter of fact, it was the best forum to establish economic relations within the countries in the region, including Afghanistan.But the objectives of this forum could not be achieved due to strained relations between India and Pakistan. India is a big country and it has to step forward to set up friendship and economic relations with Pakistan and has to release its grip on Kashmir.
According to newspaper reports, the Indian high commission to Pakistan has said that his country has adopted a liberal visa policy for the Pakistani businessmen and it is different what it used to be 10 years ago. The Indian diplomat suggested that a business point and facility center can be established at WagahBorder for the business communities of the two countries. Besides, acourier service is also needed to be launched between the two countries. A strict visa policy is the main hurdle in normalisation of the economic relations between the two countries. There is a kind of iron curtain in South Asia and a liberal policy is the need of the hour. There is actually trust deficit and that must be ended. It will be good for India to stop anti-Pakistan policy and give right of self-determination to Kashmiri people. India is spending billions of dollars on purchasing defence equipment while 80 percent of its population lives below the poverty line. If the relations are normalised, there will be no need to allocate huge budget for the purchase of arms and ammunition.
India needs to adopt a policy to boost economic activities in the region and there is no justification in India’s objection on the proposed economic corridor between Pakistan and China. The huge funds used in defencespendings can be utilized to uplift the lot of the people.
