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Businessmen Panel (BMP) spokesperson Ahmad Jawad has said that business community is concerned on volatile situation in Kashmir where use of cluster bombs by Indian forces in violation of international conventions is condemnable.
"No weapon can suppress determination of Kashmiris to get their right of self determination," he said, adding that Kashmir runs in blood of every Pakistani.
However, Jawad also emphasised that trade ties and business relations need a sharp boost to incentivise peace. "There is a strong feeling that enhanced connectivity between the India and Pakistan will create corridors of peace," he said, adding that for large and expanding economies of the world, trade and good trade relations can be a crucial source of development and progress.
The BMP spokesperson said that with India and Pakistan's economies offer ideal conditions to make significant gains from trade. According to the World Bank "The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia", trade potential between two countries is estimated at $37 billion, he cited.
He further said that 770 million young people on both sides of the border are a "ray of hope" and by bringing them together a paradigm shift can be brought in the bilateral relationship between the two countries. He cited that India failed to hit Pakistan much despite having cancelled export orders from Pakistan and banned export of certain products to Pakistan because the latter is not dependant on Indian trade.
Jawad said that there is no level playing field between the two counties and it needs to be reviewed in detail. He suggested that Indian business figures lobby their government to improve trade opportunities due to their high share and reduce disruption on the border in particular, where traders complain of everything from bureaucratic impediments (put in their way) to harassment by paranoid security forces concerned with their cross-border activities. "Because of pervasive tensions, informal trade is high as it bypasses customs and border officials and uses the third party countries such as the United Arab Emirates," he said.
However, BMP official said that these circuitous routes add unnecessary time and costs and result in a loss of tax revenue for both governments. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan consistently gave message of peace to India-PM Modi that war was not a solution to any problem but conflicts could only be resolved through peace and negotiations and in this regard President Trump offer for mediation on Kashmir dispute is important.
He said that peace with India has also relevance on another issue: climate change that poses a grave danger to the economies of the two countries, besides affecting health of population. Both India and Pakistan are exposed to multiple hazards such as avalanches, earthquakes, glaciers outbursts in the Himalayas in the north, droughts and floods in the plains and cyclones that originate in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. India and Pakistan are severely water-stressed countries. Therefore, BMP spokesperson said the two neighbours need to confront that menace by combined strategies and actions on a permanent basis.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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