H.E. Abdul Basit, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India recently visited Kolkata and interacted with business people, journalists, students and politicians. An Aman ki Asha supporter shares her impressions
By Ruchhita Kazaria
‘We need to stay engaged with each other’
A message for Aman Ki Asha
Asked to give a message for Aman ki Asha, Abdul Basit promptly obliged:
Ruchhita Kazaria
“In the last 67 years, we have been busy blaming each other. Pakistan blames India and India blames Pakistan. What we need is a normal relationship. We need to really move forward. We need to keep the hope alive; if hope dies, nothing is left. We need to stay engaged with each other, create an environment to make it easier for the Government to take decisions.
“Meanwhile, we need to keep the ball rolling and to see the positive elements. We need more activity, energy, substance and participation. There is just so much that can be done. Unfortunately, political realities do not allow things beyond a certain point and that’s the problem. I am sure a day will come soon when we see peace between us. It is up to the youth to usher in that change. “My generation has failed to achieve peace. I hope the future generations do achieve it. Aman ki Asha is a platform which is doing good work and you must continue it”.
— R. Kazaria
Extracts / highlights
- “Peace is a mutual interest. Dialogue is not a favor by one country to another. It is only by dialogue that you can achieve peace.”
- “We need to adhere to the past MoUs and agreements. We need to stick to them in spirit. The past treaties need to be implemented”.
- “There are frameworks which have outlived their utility; composite dialogue is the way forward… good agreements need to be signed”.
Last week, Kolkata, ‘The City of Joy’, welcomed His Excellency Abdul Basit, High Commissioner of Pakistan in India. During his three-day trip, his first ever to Kolkata, Mr Basit met members of various chambers of commerce, students at St. Xavier’s College, journalists at the Kolkata Press Club as well as the Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee.
I and my friend Saira Shah Halim, a corporate trainer and social activist, were fortunate to be invited to the seminars Mr Basit addressed, one on “Enhancing Trade Relations Between India and Pakistan” organized by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, and the other at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies. We were also fortunate to have the opportunity to meet and interact with the ambassador on a personal level, and like others, highly appreciated the views of this career diplomat who has been serving his country for the last 32 years.
Throughout these years, says Mr. Basit, eyes twinkling, his best friends have been Indian diplomats. “We are so comfortable … our language, history, civilization, legacies are the same. We share a unique relationship. At the Government level, we are poles apart, but at the people to people level, our warmth is unparalleled”.
Mr. Basit indicated a keen interest on discussing proposals aimed at strengthening cultural relations between West Bengal and Pakistan. And he won the hearts of all those present when he said, “I have been told that what Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow. I’m open to ideas… let’s move towards a normal relationship!”
From his talk at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, we learnt that Kolkata once had a Pakistani consulate. “I would like to see a Pakistani consulate coming up again, here in your city!” he said. He also appreciated Indian women for their courage to ride two-wheelers ranging from motorbikes to bicycles, something that is missing in Pakistan.
At the Trade Relations seminar, he highlighted the importance of India and Pakistan resolving “all our disputes and issues through dialogue”.
“Both countries are democratic and federations. Federating units have an important role to play towards promoting bilateral relations at all levels and in all spheres,” he says.
He highlighted the poor trade relations between the two countries in his keynote speech: “Intra European Union trade is close to 60%, intra Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is around 30%, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is around 20%. But amongst the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, it’s only 5%. This despite the fact that South Asia is home to more than 1.6 billion people.”
Long-term economic relations cannot be sustained in the absence of banking facilities. “There is not a single branch of any Pakistani bank in India to facilitate financial transactions (and vice versa)… only the Wagah border is used for trade.”
In addition, he notes, there are only three flights between India and Pakistan, all operated by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).”We are trying to convince Indian airlines to start flying to Pakistan”.
At Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies – Chairman MAKAIAS Sitaram Sharma, with High Commissioner of Pakistan in India Abdul Basit. Photo: Ruchhita Kazaria
Mr. Basit believes there is a need to work on these constraints and develop a conducive environment for business. He said Pakistan is working to grant the status of the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ to India in a bid to enhance bilateral trade. “We intended doing this in September 2012, but have been unable to, due to a variety of reasons.”
“People on both sides of the border wish the relationship to foster growth,” he said. But “politics or issues do not allow us to get together and work together”.
Despite the setbacks, he is hopeful that a day would dawn, when “logic will triumph over politics”.
Things are getting better in some ways. “India bashing doesn’t attract votes anymore in Pakistan,” he notes. “In the last ten years, we have seen that anti-India statements are not appreciated. In Pakistan, the people are very clear. They want to have a relationship with India based on mutual interest and equality”.
Unfortunately, the people keep finding their wishes thwarted. There have been instances of Pakistani exhibitions not being allowed in various Indian cities, and last-minute cancellation of a concert by the Pakistani band ‘Jal’ in Mumbai in April 2013.
The issue of tourist visas came up during one of the question-answer sessions. “Many of us want to visit Pakistan,” said Saira Shah Halim. “I have heard it’s so beautiful. What measures can be taken on that front? Especially as we are discussing about trade and commerce! How do we see tourism between us?”
“I don’t see that happening very soon … there seems to be no possibility of any relaxation of the tourist visa,” he replied, but promised to ensure that she would get a visa if she applies.
“What would we like to do in the months and years ahead?” he asks rhetorically. “Would we like to usher in new beginnings, a new era of friendship and co-operation? Or do we continue to live in this hostility?”
He is confident in the people’s intelligence to find a way forward. The time has come, he says, to bury the past and “create a new narrative” overcoming “this environment of mutual distrust”.
Over hi-tea at the Trade Relations event, I seized the opportunity to introduce myself to Mr. Basit as a peace activist and Aman Ki Asha volunteer. Over the next half hour of intense conversation, using my smart phone I took him through various campaigns advocated from this forum, including “Milne Do”, the campaign against visa restrictions, the “Dear Neighbour” velfie movement, the “Handwritten with love” letter campaign, and the children’s art campaign “Peaceful Pakistan – Pakistan For All” initiated by Ilmana Fasih.
I repeated the exercise when introduced to the ambassador’s wife Summiya Basit later. As we shared the peace videos, paintings and letters with her, I sensed her pleasure at these constructive moves for peace.
Talking about Aman Ki Asha, Mr. Basit appreciated the initiative and the people behind it, and the Jang Group and Geo TV. “India too, needs to pick up again,” he observed. “We do not see news of these campaigns in the newspapers here”.
We discussed which savories and sweets one must dig into and places of interestin Kolkata. I shared some of the Urdu poetry I had written in response to bombings in Pakistan as well as something I wrote when Yusuf Raza Gilani resigned from his post of as Prime Minister.
Mr. Basit’s talks drew thunderous applause from the audience at both venues. “Let’s not meet for the sake of meeting,” he said. “That should not be the attitude!”
For me, the most soul warming moment was when he mentioned Aman ki Asha.
The writer is a former journalist with The Asian Age and Times of India; Kolkata. Email: [email protected]
