The Ajrak Corridor

Majyd Aziz

In days of yore, the Indian sub-continent was the citadel of trade, culture, innovation, and spiritual way of life. The area that today is demarcated as Rajasthan and Gujarat on the Indian side and Sindh, in Pakistan, although divided by a border, has many commonalities that should be formed into a core part that could be instrumental in encouraging a formidable trade base, a cultural foundation, and a significant source of people assimilation and convergence. A visionary initiative can be simultaneously undertaken in Jaipur, Gandhinagar and Karachi to achieve this objective, in effect, agreeing to establish what should be known as The Ajrak Corridor.

There is a need to understand the past history and then to formulate a modernistic, rational, and functional strategy to ensure the success of this proposal and to facilitate momentum that would eventually connect Mumbai (although in Maharashtra) and Karachi. The rationale behind this approach is that the Mumbai-Karachi mercantile pragmatism would generate the desired impetus to achieve the objective of regional economic integration. The full potential of the Munabao-Khokhrapar link route and a strategy to link Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sindh would become a reality if the three Chief Ministers, Shrimati  Vasundhara Raje, Shrimati Anandiben Patel, and Syed Qaim Ali Shah meet at a focused conclave that would also include the business community, noted politicians from these states, and experts from various sectors. The outcome would be The Ajrak Corridor.

The situation at present is that whenever the business representatives or government officials of both countries hold parleys to discuss trade and investment, the emphasis is primarily on the Most Favored Nation (or Non Discriminatory Market Access as promoted and parroted nowadays to counter the misleading Urdu connotations of the term MFN) or on the imperative need to remove the restriction of allowing only 137 items from India through the Wagah-Attari route. The Munabao-Khokhrapar land route, the development of physical infrastructure, especially on the Pakistan side of the border, the increase in frequency of the Thar Express passenger train between Munabao-Khokhrapar, the setting up of an Integrated Check Post for truck movement at Khokhrapar, and the oft-delayed opening of the Deputy High Commissions in Mumbai and Karachi are seldom topics of broad awareness, mutual understanding and decision-taking, especially at the official level. In short, conveniently ignoring The Ajrak Corridor.

A flurry of activity has been witnessed in recent times in the relationship between Pakistan Punjab and East Punjab. The well-located facility at Wagah-Attari enables closeness and easy movement of people and goods. The denizens of Balochistan and Sindh are handicapped by many factors that impact on their trade, trips, and contacts across the border. There was a time when three fourth of Pakistan’s exports to India and nearly forty percent of imports from India were through the Rajasthan-Sindh land route. Today, except for undocumented cross border trade, there is virtually no officially registered trade through this route. The advantages are manifold, whether medical tourism, whether religious pilgrimages, whether access to educational institutions, whether linkages for coal, oil, gas, technical skills development, and whether business of ethnic handicrafts and textiles, to enumerate certain sectors.  Thus, it is imperative that there should be The Ajrak Corridor.

The situation is also disturbing for citizens who have family or relatives across the border, especially residents of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sindh. Those citizens living within the ‘Dhat’ region, an area of about 400 km on both sides of the border between Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Umerkot in Sindh have traditional religious, social and ethnic ties. The restriction in cross border people movement imposed after the 1965 war that has affected those living on both sides of the border can be eased with the establishment of The Ajrak Corridor.

The situation on the Gujarat-Sindh border is depressing too. In the olden days, there was considerable movement of goods and services between these two states. Here too, the cultural, economic and ethnic linkages and traditions were paramount and were enabling factors. There is an overbearing sense of compatibility between Gujarat and Sindh, especially the presence of business-oriented ethnic communities such as Memon, Khoja, Bohri and Vohra who have a strong presence and significant importance in trade and industry, especially in Karachi and some cities of interior Sindh.  This is a potent asset that could be utilized to develop trade and investment in and through The Ajrak Corridor.

There is this deep-rooted opposition to opening up any more entry/exit points since monitoring and controls are comfortably executed at Wagah-Attari point. There is this misconception that a Rajasthan-Sindh-Gujarat nexus would usher in rampant imports from India with a further complication of people movement, primarily of Sindhi Hindus and of those families and their progeny who migrated from India after Independence in 1947. Even today, there are no direct road, air or rail linkages between Sindh and Gujarat. The possibility of connecting important cities through a road network that could also be extended to Rajasthan could enhance trade and people movement on a fast track. This strategy could also be considered for the Munabao-Khokhrapar rail that could be extended to Gujarat too. The lack of a direct shipping service is also retarding trade. It is proposed that since more goods are being imported from India than being exported from Pakistan, the governments of both the countries could allow an Indian shipping line to commence a feeder service between Sindh’s Karachi Port or Port Qasim and Gujarat’s Kandla or Mundra Ports. This grand initiative can increase the importance of The Ajrak Corridor.

The election of Narendra Modi, a Gujarati, as the Prime Minister, has been acknowledged as the re-birth of the traditional relationship between Gujarat and Sindh. In fact, despite hard-hitting statements emanating out of his political party leadership, and at times by his own scathing pronouncements, there is hope that a new beginning would be made, and that the political leadership in Gujarat and Rajasthan would especially prefer to develop a Para-diplomacy equation with their Sindhi counterpart. The encouraging aspect is the open support and lobbying of the business communities of Sindh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. More importantly, the direct benefits of these efforts would be a blessing for all citizens living in these areas. These are the very essence of the success of The Ajrak Corridor. A very poignant couplet often recited at Indo-Pak meetings of stakeholders is worth mentioning: ­Aik shajar aisa lagaya jaye / Jiska hamsa’ay ke aanghan mein bhi saya jaye.