Pakistan-India Trade:

The Pakistan-India Trade Relationship: Prospects, Profits, and Pitfalls
however, despite the resumption of ministerial-level talks in early 2011
and a series of subsequent confidence-building measures, Pakistan-Indian
political relations remain deeply troubled. 6 Hostility is still entrenched in
public sentiment; a Pew poll released in September 2012 finds majorities
on each side viewing the other unfavorably, with Indians describing the
Pakistani state as more of a threat than the virulently anti-India Lashkare-Taiba
militant group. 7 Many in Islamabad continue to regard India as
an existential security threat that has never reconciled itself to Pakistan’s
existence. New Delhi, meanwhile, remains angry about Pakistan’s refusal
to pursue legal proceedings against the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai
terror attacks, and is also anxious about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. Most
critically, there has been no progress on resolving the territorial tensions
that have triggered three wars between the two countries.
Some observers, in fact, contend that Islamabad’s decision to liberalize
trade with India could eventually produce great disillusionment in
Pakistan, because India has no intention of making the territorial concessions,
especially regarding Kashmir, that Islamabad hopes closer trade
ties will eventually bring about. According to these observers, New
Delhi sees stronger commercial relations as an end in themselves—and
wishes that Islamabad would view trade ties in the same way. One analyst
warns that by maintaining a rigid status-quo position on territorial
issues, India “deprives itself of diplomatic flexibility, while also undermining
the constituency for peace inside Pakistan.” 8
Amin Hashwani offers a more optimistic perspective in this
volume’s final contribution. Hashwani, a Pakistani businessman and
founder of the Pakistan-India CEOs Business Forum, insists that more
trade truly can improve the bilateral relationship. In fact, he argues that a
deep reservoir of goodwill is already well in place. “The positive chemistry
that exists on a people-to-people level is unmatched and unprecedented,”
he writes, underscoring the “warmth displayed for the other”
on college campuses and in boardrooms in both countries. Additionally,
he acknowledges that while Indian perceptions of Pakistan tend to be
“dimunitional and frequently quite negative” due to distorted media
portrayals, he points out that Pakistani writers and musicians have been
making major inroads with Indian audiences in recent years.
Trade normalization, Hashwani argues, will tighten these links “and
create many other unforeseen and unintended interdependencies.” He
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