How Improved Indo-Pak Relations Could Transform Pakistan’s Future

Pakistan has unnecessarily suffered due to its unholy obsession with Jammu and Kashmir. Over the last seven decades, all Pakistani rulers ensured that their entire existence is only about trying to seize territory from India that they believe should be part of Pakistan. There is no doubt that many sensible people realize the absurdity of Pakistani claims. 

 

If Pakistan achieves trade normalization with India, it will reap many immediate benefits. Pakistan can trade with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar through a land route. Pakistani trucks can crisscross through India to deliver goods to these nations and bring back stuff Pakistan needs. Needless to say, Pakistan’s exports would boom, and its business community would make a lot of money. Trade among nations helps everyone. 

Pakistan is predominantly a Muslim nation, and there are a lot of Muslims in many Indian states, including in Jammu & Kashmir. They can start family ties again and indulge in marriages with Indian nationals. Fifteen percent of India’s population is Muslim, which means around 21 crore Muslims are living in India. It will immensely benefit the Kashmiris on both sides of the border as well as Mujazirs, the Muslims who migrated to Pakistan from many other Indian states and settled particularly in Karachi. 

 

Pakistan has been a victim of increasing Islamization by its opportunist ruler in the last 75 years. Pakistani military and civilian leaders used religion as a tool to take hold of Pakistan and bring some kind of unity among its provinces. Normalization with India will reduce the need in Pakistan to continue with the radical Islamization project, and people will be able to consume Indian films, dramas, etc, which would help in civilizing the vast population and might encourage them to accept modernity. They will, at least the Middle Class, move towards modernity. 

Pakistan's creative industry will get a huge boost. Pakistani singers, actors, and directors can work in different Indian film industries, which can truly produce celebrities in Pakistan. It is quite possible that a truly big film star followed by 2 billion people of the Indian subcontinent will come from Pakistan. 

Pakistanis would be able to visit India easily. That would open opportunities for Pakistanis to come to India for studies, work, and access affordable medical care. It would also boost tourism in Pakistan. India might or might not get any benefit, but Pakistanis will reap immediate benefits beyond their imagination, including regular cricketing ties and millions of dollars for Pakistani cricket players.

It is a fact that India was keen to establish normal relations, but Pakistan decided not to reciprocate. They stick to their absurd and unrealistic demand that India should hand over Jammu & Kashmir, a territory equal to the size of the United Kingdom, to Pakistan as it is a Muslim-majority area and it belongs to Pakistan. Even Prime Minister Modi visited Pakistan uninvited and went out of his way to establish peace in the region. Pakistan continued to use Islamic terrorist groups to attack Indian security forces and Hindu and Sikh civilians, mostly in the Kashmir region. They used similar groups to grab power in Afghanistan. 

The Pakistani economy is going through a rough patch these days, and the Pakistani military is eager to establish normal trade relations without compromising on its policy of using Jihadi groups to destabilize Kashmir. The Modi government has clarified that Pakistan cannot decide the domains of peace and domains of conflict at their whims. 

(Mukesh Devrari)