If there was a theme that dominated the first day of the Indo-Pak business conference, was the four-letter word: visa. Speakers from both sides of the border were at pain to point out that MFN, FDI would remain useless acronyms unless businesspersons from either side could meet each other easily.
Poetic Touch
Speaker after speaker quoted 'shayari' to buttress the fact that India and Pakistan need to trade more with each other. Pakistan PM Gilani quoted a couplet he had penned in college in Lahore. Adi Godrej quoted Alexander Pope and Sunil Munjal, his uncle. Einstein and Edmund Burke found mention too.
Missing 'K' Word
Conspicuously absent at the most high-profile meeting of businesspeople from India Pakistan ever, was the 'K' word. Nobody uttered it. The businesspersons naturally didn't say it. But neither did the high profile politicos and bureaucrats present. It does look as though Indo-Pak relationship will finally enter two-track mode with the economic track running independently of the political one.
Numbers Game
What is the potential size of the Indo-Pak trade in the near term? Depends on your optimism and how you can spin the numbers. Speakers came up with figures ranging from $5-billion to $10-billion , $12 billion to the massively optimistic $15-billion . For the record, the current figure stands at $2.7-billion .
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
An online video about Sikhs looking after a mosque built by his ancestors inspires
the writer to re-connect with his past across the border
By Syed Saadat Hu
.....more
Adi GodrejI had the opportunity to lead an 80-member high-level business delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to Pakistan in May 2012 f .....more
RIP Asghar Ali Engineer
A legacy of peace, rational thinking,
communal harmony
Asoft spoken, gentle and unassuming person, always clad in a .....more
Time to douse the fire
"Pakistan-India relations have been strained for decades due to a number of well known issues - Kashmir, water, sporadic skirmis .....more
An innovative idea connects Indians and Pakistanis with 'the other side'
"It saddens me that we have neighbours that we can't even go visit." "The .....more
Congratulating Nawaz Sharif on the electoral win of his political party, Aman ki Asha's plea to both governments continues to be: "Stay the course". Let the people re .....more
Page 1 of 175
Special Editions
more editions
The News on Sunday Special Report: India Pakistan prisoners
We probably didn't need to do this Special Report. Newspaper stories don't matter when it comes to Indians in Pakistani jails and vice versa. In fact, 'vice versa' sums it up. We do to them what they do to us.
Except when the two countries decide to begin talking, yet again! This time a little before the foreign secretary level talks, some Pakistani prisoners were released by India (and vice versa must have happened) and some more were release....read more
Blog
more
For the past 2 years the Jang Group and Geo have been working on a project of great national interest; one that we hope will help usher in an era of peace and prosperity in the country and indeed, in the region. And one that hopefully all Pakistanis can be proud of.
The Jang Group has entered into an agreement with the Times of India Group, the largest media group of India, to campaign for peace betw
Global Media
Comments