Role of Think Tanks in Indo-Pak Trade

Majyd Aziz

The process of liberalization and broadening the base of bilateral trade between India and Pakistan has had a checkered history. Business organizations have been active, either from their own platform or in joint association with their counterparts across the border. At the same time, the facilitation process has also encouraged Think Tanks, research houses, community service organizations and even individuals to join the campaign and formulate well documented research and opinions to spur up the process and provide substantial ammunition to the stakeholders.

Although there are many highly regarded organizations who have taken up the challenge, both in India and Pakistan, this article highlights a few that I have had the privilege of interacting  and attending their programs. These are CUTS International based in Jaipur, Gateway House in Mumbai, and ICRIER in New Delhi. In Pakistan, Jinnah Institute and SDPI are two recognized Think Tanks, both headquartered in Islamabad. On an individual level, three names carry a lot of weight and respect. These are Dr Ishrat Hussain, Former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan and presently the Dean and Director of the prestigious Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi, Dr Rajiv Kumar, erstwhile Secretary General of FICCI, former Director and Chief Executive of ICRIER, and now Senior Fellow at the premier Center for Policy Research (CPR) New Delhi, and Dr Huma Fakhar, Pakistan’s most prominent expert on WTO, SME and FTA. 

CUTS International is acronym for Consumer Unity & Trust Society. It has five centers in India, three in Africa and one in Geneva and Hanoi. It has over 1200 individual as well as 300 institutional members. The avuncular Pradeep Singh Mehta is the guiding force behind this highly focused institution. He is ably supported by a dedicated team of nearly 100 young professionals. He is often on the move promoting his organization as well as imparting his wisdom at international forums. CUTS has been very dedicated to the cause of facilitation of bilateral trade between the two SAARC members and has spearheaded conferences, position papers and linkages in this field.

CUTS has hosted focused programs on various bilateral trade facilitation issues, including Non-Tariff Trade Barriers, financial intermediaries and trade facilitation, trade mapping, etc. I represented Pakistani businessmen in two CUTS programs in April 2013 and thrice during 2014 in New Delhi and Dhaka. CUTS enjoys a defined linkage with SDPI.

Gateway House based in Mumbai is the brainchild of Ms Manjeet Kripalani who is the Founder and Executive Director. She is the former India Bureau Chief of Businessweek magazine and has been the recipient of many global awards and recognitions. Gateway House is a foreign policy Think Tank established to engage India’s leading corporations and individuals in debate and understanding on India’s foreign policy and its role in global affairs. It has also organized projects to create awareness of the imperative need for bilateral trade liberalization and facilitation. In August 2014, I was invited to participate in the “Brainstorming Session on Sub-Regional Perspective on Indo-Pakistan Cooperation, Prospects and Challenges with reference to Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab” where we discussed “Trade and Economic Cooperation between Mumbai and Karachi” and “Trade and Economic Cooperation between Gujarat and Sindh”. The emphasis was on the need to make borders connect rather than divide.

Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), based in New Delhi, is an autonomous policy-oriented Think Tank. Its main concentration is to enhance the knowledge content of policy making by undertaking analytical research that is aimed at enlightening India’s policy makers and also at boosting the interface with the global economy. Prof. Dr. Nisha Taneja, a distinguished academician and expert on WTO issues, regional trade, industrial and institutional economics, is leading the three-year project on “Strengthening Research and Promoting Multi-Level Dialogue for Trade Normalization between India and Pakistan”. The objective of this in-depth study is to catalyze and inform a more participatory policy debate through targeted and practical research and fostering multi-level dialogue platforms. 

Dr Taneja has visited Pakistan many times alongwith her team and is probably the most familiar and popular Indian academic face in the opinion of many Pakistani Chambers and Associations. Her deep insight into the dynamics of bilateral trade liberalization and facilitation has had a positive influence in this process. I consider myself as her global admirer because of her dedication to this project and for her acclaimed pragmatism. In an email interaction, Dr Taneja stated that “one big advantage of doing the project is that we have been able to sensitize media, academia and civil society on India Pakistan trade through multiple platforms. This has shifted the focus from politics to trade. Even during tense political situations we have managed to undertake all our project activities. This to my mind is the biggest achievement of the project. And, of course, without the support from people like you in India and Pakistan, none of this would have been possible!” She further added that “the process of trade liberalization is almost complete with only a small number of items on the negative list of import. We need to now focus on how this trade can be realized by addressing issues related to trade facilitation”.

Jinnah Institute is led by Ambassador Sherry Rehman who initiated the Delhi Dialogue where focal persons deliberate on issues related to India and Pakistan. I was a speaker at the meeting in Islamabad in 2012 where I presented the concerns of the Pakistani businessmen and industrialists. I was also the sole businessman in the Pakistani Parliamentary Delegation that visited India in 2012 which was organized by Jinnah Institute and FICCI. 

 
Sustainable Development Policy Institute is directed by Dr Abid Suleri with Dr Vaqar Ahmed as his Deputy. Among other research projects, SDPI has done an intensive study on the impact of bilateral trade liberalization on the automobile and pharmaceutical industries of Pakistan. It is also very much involved in organizing the South Asia Economic Summit that have been held five times in the last six years while the sixth SAES would be in November 2014 in New Delhi. 

 
At the individual level, Dr Ishrat Hussain has been a sought after speaker at international forums where he conveys the practical aspects of the bilateral trade process. His various writings and papers are based on ground realities and his approach has been on steering the narrative through hard facts and raucous roadblocks instead of sugar-coated idealism. On the education front, he has developed linkages with recognized educational institutes in India such as Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad in UP, India and organizing a collaborative event with the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, India. 

 
Dr Rajiv Kumar is another erudite professional who is a renowned economist and the author of several books, He also oversees SARCist which is an initiative of CPR towards building a virtual knowledge platform for purposes of policy advocacy on issues of regional cooperation with particular emphasis on trade and investment flows. The SARCist endeavors to bring together the excellent work being done by many of these Think Tanks in South Asia as well as outside South Asia that are working on South Asian cooperation. He has written extensively and proposed out-of-box solutions and opinions on Indo-Pakistan trade issues and he is a recognized authority on this subject.

 

As Chairperson of Pakistan Business Council’s initiative, India Pakistan Joint Business Forum, Dr Huma Fakhar has been engaged in supporting and putting at forefront trade between the SME sectors of the two countries. She is an avid supporter of the creative industry (cinema, art, music, publishing, etc) facilitation on both sides of the border. She has specifically proposed an agenda to expedite India Pak trade in targeted areas like SME, Technology and Border Facilitation. Her several writings on India Pak Trade, including South Asian Regional Trade, have been widely published. She has also carried out detailed studies and papers on SAFTA for the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Dr Fakhar represents a regional SME Fund which primarily invests in India and Pakistan alongwith business support services for cross border trade between the two countries.

Think Tanks, individuals, Chambers and Trade Associations have generally been in the forefront in promoting bilateral trade liberalization and facilitation. Braving contentious issues, anger-jingoism, mental blockades and even voyeurism, they assiduously trek on as if playing the snakes and ladders game, and maneuver through the political, security, and psychological roadblocks, as they aspire to attain the objective. And, the goal is that trade can change the deep-buried negative mindset. Dale Carnegie once said that ”most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”

Indo-Pak Trade Coalition

Majyd Aziz / Tridivesh Singh Maini

Commercial Associations, Trade Guilds, and Business and Industry Chambers are formed to promote, project and protect the interests of membership. The worth, acceptance and effectiveness of such organizations are directly related to the critical mass they have in achieving the desired objectives and doing justice to their mandate. It is, therefore, fit and proper to analyze and evaluate the performance of those trade organizations that are directly involved in the cause of bilateral liberalization of trade and investment of India and Pakistan. 

Chambers of Commerce are important not just because they understand the benefits of closer economic linkages, but also for the fact that the relationships established between them are strong, and while during times of political tensions they may not be totally immune, yet they can find ways and means of keeping the dialogue intact.

India and Pakistan may have not achieved desirable progress on a number of fronts, yet one area where there has been significant movement in the past decade has been the sphere of trade and commerce. In addition to the vision of the political leadership, Chambers and Associations too have played a vital role not just in urging their respective governments to ease out trade restrictions but also to liberalize the existing visa regime thus enabling the increasing interactions between the business communities on both sides. 

While taking the above facts into consideration, while acknowledging the fact that trade and industry of both India and Pakistan are keen to liberalize trade and remove red tape and bottlenecks, and while accepting the fact that there are serious security and survival concerns among many stakeholders and policymakers, it is now an established position that the process of liberalization of trade and ushering in a regional economic integration would maintain a forward feature despite myriad efforts to insert a monkey wrench in the process.

Therefore, it is appropriate to check out the role of trade and industry representatives in bilateral trade and investment. There is a SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry headquartered in Islamabad with a functioning secretariat. The President’s office rotates among the SAARC members and it organizes various events to promote the issues of business and industries of the eight SAARC members, more so with reference to SAPTA and SAFTA. A special focus is accorded to Indo-Pak trade and investment as it is rightly agreed that addressing these issues and bringing about mutual understanding would be the game changer in arriving at the objectives of regional economic integration. SAARC-CCI has an advantage in the sense that a combined focus is given to an issue as it allows working space to deal with national concerns of each neighboring country. The India Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry is another joint initiative of businessmen. The members do meet to formulate joint strategies and push for various reforms. However, it lacks persuasive influence because the leadership usually consists of those businessmen who are already well-entrenched in FICCI, FPCCI, SAARC-CCI etc. Thus there is mostly an overlapping of efforts. In fact, IP-CCI is not able to generate the desired results. Another organization is the Pakistan Business Council that has a limited number of members who are among the major corporations, groups or conglomerates. PBC generally liaises with the Pak-India Joint Business Forum. PIJBF is composed of the representatives of the top corporations of both countries and has an edge over others in conveying the common concerns to New Delhi and Islamabad.

The Indian mega national trade organizations, like FICCI and CII, have endeavored in intensive lobbying and awareness-raising. It is pertinent to mention that a number of regional Chambers like the PHD Chamber of Commerce (Punjab), South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce have been vociferously urging their respective state governments, as well as New Delhi, to take practical steps for giving a fillip to bilateral trade. 

The South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce has taken the lead in establishing links with designated Chambers of Commerce in Pakistan. For this purpose, an MOU was signed with Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry in November 2013. The Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce too has urged the state and central governments to open land crossings between Gujarat (Kutch region) and Sindh with the aim of rekindling trade ties between the two regions. So far no tangible progress has been made in this direction.

The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been in the forefront in promoting bilateral trade and investment, in granting MFN (or NDMA) to India, in opening of the Munabao-Khokhrapar route for trade and people movement, in assisting and organizing exhibitions and visits by various Indian organizations such as FIEO, FISME, etc and, more importantly, in establishing mutually beneficial linkages. The proposed Mumbai-Karachi Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a valuable initiative of Mumbai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and KCCI, would be a trailblazer once it receives formal approval from both the governments. KCCI is a prime stakeholder in Indo-Pak trade and therefore it commands the weight to strenuously lobby for a broad canvas of liberalization of trade and immediate removal of all roadblocks, especially the Non-Tariff Trade Barriers, that have haunted businessmen from enhancing official trade movement.

At this present moment, the three global areas of concern for Pakistani businessmen and industrialists are GSP Plus by European Union, substantial market access by USA government, and bilateral trade with India. It does not in any matter rule out other serious and imperative issues such as infrastructure shortages, political instability, negative image, impact of terrorism and extremism, to name a few. What this narrative focuses on is that the three broad global areas do and would make a formidable influence on the country’s economic fundamentals. Pakistan’s exports are a pitiful $25 billion and despite all projections and political visions, attaining the $30 billion threshold may not be realized till 2016.

In India, exports are in the zone of $325-330 billion and the Modi government has gone full force in drumming up huge exports, attracting massive foreign direct investment, and getting rid of bureaucratic slowpokes. A concerted strategy has been chalked out to mushroom the shipments of the Made in India brand worldwide. The plethora of Free Trade Agreements, Preferential Trade Agreements, Economic and Political Blocs, plus Observer Status at many a world forum, are some of the fast-track initiatives undertaken by Delhi. Trade and investment sector has been very cleverly isolated from various contentious issues. This approach is really a pragmatic option and manifests favorable adherence to economic diplomacy.

Pakistan has a trade deficit with India but this should not be an impediment nor should be perceived with skepticism by policymakers. There is an imperative need to develop mutual comparative advantages through more regional integration. Trade facilitation, supply-side capacity, and the removal of prejudiced use of NTBs are critical to enhance Pakistan’s export opportunities to India. Of course, a reality-check is essential, especially to determine through in-depth investigations into informal trading that is more damaging than granting NDMA or in removing the cobwebs that hamper formal trade or, more significantly, a paradigm shift in common bias, distrust, and jingoism. This is where the mantle of power of the trade organizations comes into action. Otherwise, summits, conferences, research studies, and camaraderie would turn out to be Quixotic adventures for a long, long time.

(Majyd Aziz is Former President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry / Tridivesh Singh Maini is Senior Research Associate at Jindal School of International Affairs, Sonepat, India)

The Political Opera

Majyd Aziz

Accusations of rigging in elections in Pakistan are a normal afterthought of the losing candidates. Some political parties even boycott the elections for reasons best known to them. However, during the 2013 elections, the politico-religious Jamaat-e-Islami withdrew halfway on Election Day. I was present in the voting line on Election Day when all of a sudden, JI announced they were boycotting. At the same time, 2 MQM workers were caught red-handed trying to stamp the ballot papers. I immediately called the MQM candidate for Sindh Assembly (he is an industrialist and one of my successors as Chairman of SITE Association of Industry which represents 3100 industries in an industrial estate called SITE and is the source of atleast 25% of the nation’s revenue) to come and sort out the issue. This is one micro example. In Interior villages and small towns, political dynasties, feudal class, and other VIPs routinely do it. So, there is nothing new in this political game.

The success of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, both in Islamabad as well as in the largest Province, Punjab, was acclaimed as a new era of economic progress and the loud hurrah from trade and industry manifested the confidence in Premier Nawaz Sharif and his team. The Sharif government has gone full force in trying to implement an Energy Policy and for that they have gone in each and every direction to sign MOUs, agreements, and proposals. However, these are not immediate solutions although the impression Sharif and his Ministers give is that uninterrupted and affordable electricity would be available in few months. The rhetoric has been over-hyped and when people face 12 hours load shedding then the e.coli hits the fan. The massive country-wide demonstrations against power outages and exorbitant electricity bills have, at times, been violent and destructive.

A peculiar trait of Sharif tenures (present and past) is to announce grandiose projects that, although in the long run are beneficial and facilitative, but in the short term place a heavy burden on the meager financial resources of the Treasury. Moreover, Sharif and his Finance Minister (and father in law of his daughter), Ishaq Dar, have heavily relied on massive loans from International Development Institutions such as IMF, WB, ADB etc. The external loans portfolio of Pakistan is abnormally bloated and would, in the years to come, sledgehammer very critically on the ability to discharge financial obligations.

Another damaging attitude of Nawaz Sharif and younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, who is the Chief Minister of Punjab, is to concentrate on Central Punjab while both the regimes dynamics are primarily focused on cronyism, nepotism, and family rule. No wonder Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan calls it a monarchy. To the chagrin of the denizens of the port city of Karachi, elder Sharif is also not too keen about Karachi from Day One. Same is the case with the younger Sharif.

Moreover, the arrogance and haughtiness of his core Ministers has alienated the establishment, media, civil society and business community. One paramount reason why there is this backlash against Sharif.  It would have done Sharif well if he had side-lined atleast four of his Kitchen Cabinet Ministers and brought in fresh and moderate faces. The anti-Army statements regurgitated by the Defence, Railway and Information Ministers further widened the gap between Army and Sharif. More than 90% of Army is against Sharif according to senior political leaders. This is more or less corroborated by the buzz on the streets and in the drawing rooms. Furthermore, the regal style of him and his family, the accusations of heavy commissions in mega projects, the stories of corruption and accumulation of wealth are all factors that are impacting negatively on his approval rating. In short, according to many analysts and critics, the peculiar mindset of Sharif may bring about another exile to Jeddah or London.

Imran Khan does not have an overwhelming support within the trade and industrial community as much as he has, or had, with the youth. He is another arrogant, anti-Karachi politician and will probably not learn from mistakes made by Sharif. But, the fact is that he has been able to galvanize a substantial following mainly due to his charisma, his successes on the cricket field, and also due to his philanthropy such as the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in Lahore and the NUML University in his constituency in Mianwali in rural Punjab.

He garnered 34 seats in National Assembly and his PTI is also the major coalition partner ruling in KPK. There is a good chance of him gaining lot more seats in the next elections mainly by accepting the entry of many political fence-sitters (or Lota in Pakistan’s political lexicon) in PTI. But then he will have to pay the piper. The same faces will show up and the status quo will be maintained and further entrenched. If he can move away from this old system, as he often pledges, then there would be the possibility of a paradigm shift in the political milieu.

There is the probability of many families of the Armed Forces (active and retired) supporting Imran Khan. One cannot say for sure whether there is any official backing from the uniformed people as there is no such obvious indication. Imran Khan’s statements and oratory usually points towards a bias towards the motives and ideology of the Taliban although he is dead set against their terrorism and extremism. He deplores drone attacks and is rabidly anti-American in his public orations. He would, if elected, gradually favor Indo-Pak trade and investment because this is going to be a reality whether anyone is in favor or against.

There is always that crowd that likes to amplify loudly that Pakistan is a failed state and they indulge in the doom and gloom scenario. The so-called social media activists are mainly employees of multinationals or are part of NGOs. Some are in the media. They have little to lose as they can get employment positions at home or in Middle East etc. They vitiate the already fragile situation and brazenly enjoy trolling on social media. They don’t represent the masses so it is better to ignore them because they have no other entertainment but to take up lost causes and then abandon them midway. The fact is that despite the law and order situation, despite infrastructure shortages, despite political instability, Pakistan is managing to survive and gradually progress. It is a fact that The Global War on Terror has played havoc with the fragile economy, with human lives, and with peace but the country moves on.

Change in the political landscape seems imminent and this may come by mid-December. Sharif will not be able to rule in the manner and style that he is accustomed to and that would be his downfall. Right now the only face-saving measure is that he should vacate the office for a few months and that there is Governor Rule in Punjab while his brother also resigns. Those who were killed in Model Town Lahore must be paid substantial Diyat (is financial compensation, or blood money paid to the heirs of a victim) while accused policemen and politicians are given stiff prison sentences. Atleast three of his arrogant Ministers must resign “voluntarily” from their offices. All cases against the protestors must be withdrawn. The Speaker of National Assembly should NOT accept resignations of PTI MNAs.  Army Chief and Chief Justice Supreme Court must act as “guarantors” although there is no such provision in Constitution. The Election Commission has to be restructured. Census must be commissioned on priority basis.

Pakistan needs sincere leaders who are not juvenile or conspiratorial and are serious about reforms and good governance. Then, and only then, would there be economic progress, with emphasis on inclusiveness and poverty alleviation. Pakistan has to improve the negative image in the global environment. Meantime, in the present scenario, Imran Khan and the cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri must be given official protocol and prominence and, hopefully soon, Tahir-ul-Qadri will return to Canada. In all aspects, a National Government is desirable for maximum two years so that the political mess is mostly cleared. Of course, the mindset and the old habits of politicians must undergo a fundamental change otherwise it would be back to Square One and another Islamabad Opera. And, then, the Fat Lady may actually sing.

Munabao-Khokhrapar: Dilemma of Distrust

Majyd Aziz

The process of trade liberalization between Pakistan and India is akin to being on the Space Mountain roller coaster ride at Disneyworld in Florida. Those enjoying this ride are not sure about the horizontal and vertical movements of the ride because it is in a dark environment. Although the ride is only for few minutes, the thrill is mind-blowing, but when the ride ends there is this dampening of the spirits. Exhilaration and then disappointment. This, in short, is the scenario in the sub-continent and is more relevant in the context of opening up the facilities for the Munabao-Khokhrapar trade and people movement. The decision on opening up of the Munabao-Khokhrapar route is another victim of a security cul-de-sac.

The perceived national security concerns, in whatever ways and means, are the major hurdles in this matter. There is another mis-conceived notion floated around that Indian goods would flood the domestic markets if allowed through the Munabao-Khokhrapar route. The frequent borders skirmishes also negatively impact upon the possibilities of opening of more entry/exit points apart from Wagah-Attari. There are twelve such points (4 in Punjab, 1 in Delhi, 2 in Rajasthan, and 5 in Gujarat) but any and all decisions related to opening up of other points are suppressed as soon as they are brought up for decision making. As stated above, there is this self-generated fear that Munabao-Khokhrapar would enhance people-to-people contact and movement and this would be detrimental to security considerations.

There is an added front loading of the cost factor due to defense concerns. The security driven technologies and procedures have escalated the transaction costs and are burdensome for many businesses, especially the SME and cottage industrial sectors. It is ironic that undocumented cross-border trade is routinely facilitated but when it comes to official cross-border movement of goods, there are all kinds of blockades. Pakistan and India are not the only two countries that have, or should have, cross-border trade. This is no Kabbadi match or a wresting bout. This is a win-win situation. Thus, anger-jingoism or patriotism should not be deciding factors, especially in this context.

Whenever the issue of Munabao-Khokhrapar pops up at various fora, the opponents or naysayers characteristically come up with two basic arguments to defuse the debate by asking what are the items of trade that Pakistan could export and that this route would make Indian goods cheaper. At the outset, it is important to understand that enumerating sectors, items, products or services that would be more facilitated if Munabao-Khokhrapar is open for trade is really short-sightedness and reflects a myopic concern for the trade mechanisms. Trade follows the best, quickest, cheapest, and safe route and it is plain economic sense that doing business does not mean wastage of time, money, and opportunity.

At the present moment, Pakistan only allows 137 Indian goods to cross Wagah despite the negative list of only 1209 items that are stipulated in SRO No 280 (I) /2012 issued on March 22, 2012 by Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry. These 137 items are in many cases a catalyst for undocumented informal trade either through the borders, in connivance with corrupt border security, or are channelized through third country route. Of course, the blow hot, blow cold attitude by Pakistan towards granting Non Discriminatory Market Access to India further complicates the fragile liberalization process. India has now hinted that it would allow mobile phone connectivity for Pakistani cellphones. One very positive move and a real Confidence Building Measure, no doubt. It is hoped that Pakistan would reciprocate too.

The decision to open up Munabao-Khokhrapar as an alternate to Wagah-Attari is not palatable to many quarters as it is a fact that once this route is made operative, most of the Indo-Pak trade and people movement could be done through this route. However, the significance of Wagah-Attari will not diminish nor would this route be unfeasible. The future lies in opening up more entry/exit points and thinking of trade and investment under the SAARC umbrella instead of just Indo-Pak trade. Opening up of Munabao-Khokhrapar will be the harbinger of economic regional integration that is a prime objective of the people of South Asia, in general, and Indians and Pakistanis, in particular.

In 2003, the then Indian Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh, recommended the re-opening of the Munabao-Khokhrapar railway service. In February 2006, the Thar Express commenced operations after being in limbo for over 50 years. It is imperative that this second active rail connection between the two nations, after the Wagah link in Punjab, is designated as the primary channel for goods and people movement within Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sindh. The Thar Express would usher in a process of connect rather than the prevalent atmosphere of divide.

Although this matter is usually shoved beneath the carpet under the notions of provincial harmony and cohesion, the bare fact is that there is a sense of resentment when it comes to the importance of Karachi as the business and financial hub of Pakistan. The importance of a place or person is directly related to the critical mass present in that place or person. Karachi is business oriented, Karachi pays 67% of the Pakistan’s revenue, and Karachi is truly a metropolitan city and Pakistan’s melting pot. Karachi also happens to be the home for most of the people who migrated after Independence in 1947. Policies have generally been formulated where Karachi would get the least direct benefit. Despite all such actions and decisions, the importance of Karachi maintains its growth and its velocity.

The dilemma is that there seems to be an inherent distrust about the citizens living in Karachi or in Interior Sindh by certain elements in the corridors of power and this has also been the overarching factor in conjuring up flimsy excuses to delay the opening of the Deputy Indian High Commission in Karachi. The Indian DHC was renovated and made ready some years back for Consular and other diplomatic activities. Today, it is again showing signs of neglect and ruin. Indecision and misplaced concerns about trade and investment liberalization, facilitation, and encouragement would also lead to the continuation of a fear mindset instead of defusing tensions and facing challenges, thus deferring the desired objective of regional economic integration.

Alexis Tocqueville very rightly hoped that “Trade is the natural enemy of all violent passions. Trade loves moderation, delights in compromise, and is most careful to avoid anger.”