Editorial: Trade incompatible with terror

The onus lies on Pakistan to abandon its past policies and embrace a pragmatic approach to deal with bilateral issues

Trade incompatible with terror Pakistani Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar’s talk of possible resumption of trade ties with India betrays a complete disconnect from reality. The idea appears more a reflection of the desperation on the part of the new political dispensation in the country rather than a genuine desire to restore normalcy in the bilateral relations. Trade ties remained suspended since August 2019 with Islamabad downgrading its diplomatic ties with New Delhi after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu & Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two union Territories. Pakistani leadership must realise how preposterous it was to snap trade ties on the basis of an internal matter of the neighbouring country. Linking trade relations with Kashmir’s status is a fatal mistake that Islamabad needs to correct. Moreover, cross-border terrorism, being nurtured and promoted by Pakistan for decades, is the single most important issue that needs to be tackled for normalisation of bilateral ties. There is a growing realisation across the world that Pakistan has become a hub for global terror and that it continues to pursue the policy of using terrorism as an instrument of state policy to inflict the much-touted ‘death by thousand cuts’ on India. The onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility so that the resumption of trade relations as well as composite dialogue to sort out all issues, including Kashmir, is possible. The talk of resuming trade ties with India comes against the backdrop of a deepening economic crisis in Pakistan and mounting pressure from its business community.

No doubt reducing tensions will prove beneficial for both the countries but the onus lies on Pakistan to abandon its past policies and embrace a pragmatic approach to deal with bilateral issues. India has been steadfast in its position that trade and terrorism cannot go together and that Islamabad must take credible steps to dismantle terror infrastructure and end the support to anti-India militant outfits operating from its soil. Under the Manmohan Singh government, there was an attempt at serious negotiations to sort out trade-related issues. Members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry travelled to Pakistan in 2012 to negotiate mutually beneficial terms of trade. The Asif Ali Zardari government too had announced its intent to give the Most Favoured Nation status to India under World Trade Organisation rules but the Pakistan army stalled the proposal. Given the trust deficit between Pakistan’s words and actions, India needs to wait for credible signs from the new dispensation about its commitment to the resumption of bilateral dialogue. Talks cannot happen in a vacuum. The only option for Pakistan to resume dialogue with India is by uprooting terrorist groups, who have become extra-constitutional stakeholders in Islamabad’s Kashmir dream.