MFN status, lost in translation
In such an atmosphere, India-Pakistan relations are bound to be a bit of a side-show — except when Hafiz Saeed, the infamous chief of the even more infamous Jamat-ud-dawa, the front of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, now banded together with 40 other like-minded groups and individuals as the Difa-e-Pakistan (Defence of Pakistan) Council, decides to bring it centre stage. This gig is travelling from city to city, stirring up passion against Pakistan's decision to accord India MFN status among other things; it is headed to Karachi on February 12. The rallies are still restricted to a madrasa type audience, but the message that there can be no normalising of trade with India has found wide acceptance.
Apparently, the main weapon in Hafiz Saeed's armoury is nothing more than the Urdu translation of Most Favoured Nation. In a nation that has over six decades internalised the term dushman hamsaya (enemy neighbour), the Pakistan government and business lobbies, who are all for cross-border trade, find themselves on the backfoot while discussing giving this same neighbour the status of “sabsey pasandeeda mulk.” Ignorance about MFN is widespread, shockingly even among friends of India. No one knows exactly what it is, except what they understand from the translation. At the “Track 2” meeting, one of the Pakistani delegates made an impassioned plea for replacing MFN with some other term that would mean the same thing but wouldn't sound as if Pakistan and India had become BFF, best friends forever.
Trade ties with India
The Gilani government is better-placed than the Musharraf regime to grant the MFN status to India. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry are united in their approval and most of the leaders in the industrial sector actually think India’s market is the next plausible target for them after the virtual destruction of the Pakistani market by terrorism. India gave Pakistan the MFN status in 1996; Pakistan is still dithering in 2012. The latter is also facing economic collapse because of its internal disorder and an unleashing of jihadi forces which the state can hardly control. Meanwhile, Indo-Palk trade languishes at $2.7 billion and ‘informal trade’ is touching $10 billion, all to the disadvantage of Pakistan’s exchequer.The Indian side is understandably keen. It wants to open another trading point at Munabao-Khokhrapar on the Sindh-Rajasthan border, to prevent the concealed non-tariff barrier of a single inlet at the Lahore border. The Commerce Ministry in Islamabad was no less keen last year, as was apparent from its enthusiastic statements but come February, a lot of cold water has been poured over this enthusiasm by developments inside Pakistan. The layman is not able to grasp why the MFN is being given to ‘enemy’ India. Why call it the enemy? Because the media is bombarding his ears with how India is not yielding on Kashmir, is stopping Pakistan’s water through illegally built upriver dams, interfering in Balochistan and cooperating with the US and Israel to snatch Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal?Warlike revisionist Pakistan doesn’t properly comprehend the importance of trade in the resolution of deadlocked disputes. Television anchors refer to India’s stubborn resolve not to discuss bilateral disputes and look at the MFN issue as a leverage that should highlight the ‘disputes first’ approach the world learned to set aside a long time ago. The Indian side is obviously less bothered about Pakistan — which it should have been because of the Mumbai attack — and has removed its objection to European Union’s decision to allow concessional trade in 75 Pakistani commodities. Of course, the Indian experts know that Pakistan has the right to protect itself against India’s dominant economy through the negative list and by insisting on the removal of all kinds of non-tariff barriers mounted by India unfairly against its imports.The Pakistan Army had once expressed its ‘no objection’ to free trade with India. It needs to make another statement on this matter so that the jihadis gathered under the banner of DPC may quieten down a little, given the fact that ex-ISI bosses — one gathering in Peshawar organised by ex-Jamaat chief, Qazi Hussain Ahmad featured Generals (retd) Hamid Gul and Asad Durrani — attend its rallies.
Trade ties with India
The Gilani government is better-placed than the Musharraf regime to grant the MFN status to India. The Chambers of Commerce and Industry are united in their approval and most of the leaders in the industrial sector actually think India’s market is the next plausible target for them after the virtual destruction of the Pakistani market by terrorism. India gave Pakistan the MFN status in 1996; Pakistan is still dithering in 2012. The latter is also facing economic collapse because of its internal disorder and an unleashing of jihadi forces which the state can hardly control. Meanwhile, Indo-Palk trade languishes at $2.7 billion and ‘informal trade’ is touching $10 billion, all to the disadvantage of Pakistan’s exchequer.The Indian side is understandably keen. It wants to open another trading point at Munabao-Khokhrapar on the Sindh-Rajasthan border, to prevent the concealed non-tariff barrier of a single inlet at the Lahore border. The Commerce Ministry in Islamabad was no less keen last year, as was apparent from its enthusiastic statements but come February, a lot of cold water has been poured over this enthusiasm by developments inside Pakistan. The layman is not able to grasp why the MFN is being given to ‘enemy’ India. Why call it the enemy? Because the media is bombarding his ears with how India is not yielding on Kashmir, is stopping Pakistan’s water through illegally built upriver dams, interfering in Balochistan and cooperating with the US and Israel to snatch Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal?
Warlike revisionist Pakistan doesn’t properly comprehend the importance of trade in the resolution of deadlocked disputes. Television anchors refer to India’s stubborn resolve not to discuss bilateral disputes and look at the MFN issue as a leverage that should highlight the ‘disputes first’ approach the world learned to set aside a long time ago. The Indian side is obviously less bothered about Pakistan — which it should have been because of the Mumbai attack — and has removed its objection to European Union’s decision to allow concessional trade in 75 Pakistani commodities. Of course, the Indian experts know that Pakistan has the right to protect itself against India’s dominant economy through the negative list and by insisting on the removal of all kinds of non-tariff barriers mounted by India unfairly against its imports.
The Pakistan Army had once expressed its ‘no objection’ to free trade with India. It needs to make another statement on this matter so that the jihadis gathered under the banner of DPC may quieten down a little, given the fact that ex-ISI bosses — one gathering in Peshawar organised by ex-Jamaat chief, Qazi Hussain Ahmad featured Generals (retd) Hamid Gul and Asad Durrani — attend its rallies.
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