The Hindu : 'Trade route' to Indo-Pak. thaw

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 14, 2003

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'Trade route' to Indo-Pak. thaw

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI Jan.13. A senior U.S. State Department official, Richard Haass, the Japanese Foreign Minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi, and the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, have all spoken of the need to promote trade and commerce in South Asia in the New Year.

The ``trade route'' to greater understanding between India and Pakistan is the underlying principle in the remarks made first by Mr. Haass and Ms. Kawaguchi and more recently by Mr. Sinha. Few can quarrel with such assertions, but the fact that the External Affairs Minister has chosen to go public with his own radically new formulations must be heartening for those who want greater understanding in South Asia.

In an address to the CII summit in Hyderabad, Mr. Haass made another point which had been missing from the formulations advanced so far by the Bush administration. During his visit last year, this correspondent had pointedly asked Mr. Haass about the lack of references to the ``sanctity'' of the Line of Control — a formulation which was repeated many times during the Clinton Presidency.

On this occasion, Mr. Haass was direct: ``First, the status of the Line of Control will not be changed unilaterally. Second, the LoC will not be changed by violence.

To the contrary, in the absence of a jointly agreed Indo-Pakistani alternative, everyone should act to ensure the continued sanctity of the Line of Control.'' Even as he clarified the Bush administration's stance, the senior American official defined ``normalcy'' in South Asia, among other things, as ``market-driven commerce''.

``Today, legal trade and investment between the two countries is virtually non-existent. Developing natural commercial links could bring greater prosperity to both countries, and in the process, build constituencies for normalisation and increase the stake that each country has in the peaceful resolution of disputes,'' Mr. Haass said, adding that a free trade area in South Asia was desirable.

For her part, the Japanese Foreign Minister said: ``Improvement in India-Pakistan relations is vital for Japanese companies here to conduct stable economic activities. Such improvement will make the Indian market more attractive for investors.''

In comments made on Friday, Mr. Sinha spoke of a shared history, of the need to live together. He called for the creation of a South Asian Union, possibly on the lines of the European Union.

He said twice that India was ready to agree to a free trade arrangement tomorrow. Every South Asia watcher is aware of the depths to which India-Pakistan relations have taken the region. On every available occasion, India has spoken of nothing other than cross-border terrorism.

If India can't send back its High Commissioner on account of cross-border terrorism, then how can the two countries have normal trading relations, far less a free trade arrangement, a South Asian Union? If one were to situate Mr. Sinha's remarks in the current context, there are bound to be problems of interpretation. But, the External Affairs Minister's remarks appear to be a genuine expression of what he would like South Asia to look like.

The External Affairs Minister is right about everything that he said; he didn't even fault Pakistan for not extending MFN status to India as far as trading relations go.

Any visitor to Pakistan will be aware of the fact that ``trading with India'' is seen as a ``crime'' by the high priests of the Pakistani establishment when the Kashmir issue remains unresolved and India continues its ``atrocities''. If India is to nudge South Asia forward, then trade and commerce is the only available vehicle. And the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline can set the pace for greater cooperation in South Asia.

If the World Bank-negotiated Indus Waters Treaty has worked since 1960, then an international consortium can certainly satisfy India's security concerns with Iran acting as the guarantor. Water flows into Pakistan from India; oil and gas can certainly flow in the reverse direction.

But for trade to develop, businesspersons need to travel. And they can't travel by the Mumbai-Dubai-Karachi route. It must be direct.

The first step to increased commerce must be the re-opening of trade and travel routes. Mr. Sinha cannot stop at his seminar speech. He must translate these principles into policy.

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