MUMBAI, January 22: In Pakistan, it is considered a matter of great pride if a diplomat is posted as the high commissioner in India. Pakistan High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi did his country proud as he put forward a strong case for a discussion on Kashmir to be dealt with before anything else.Kashmir remained the focal point of Qazi's talk at a discussion called by the Indian Council of World Relations on ``India-Pakistan Relationships''. Lamenting the fact that relations between the neighbours had not altered in the past five decades, he claimed that the continuing non-cooperative attitude would prove expensive for both. ``In a globalised economy, the promises are huge, but failure to fulfill them would have enormous consequences,'' he added offering a normalisation of relations between the two countries as the only solution.
Warning that failure to solve the problem would hit both countries economically, he reiterated that India and Pakistan stand to lose a major portion of the projected foreigndirect investment (FDI) needed to sustain its present growth rates. He claimed that there no foreign firm would want to invest in a country which did not have predictable relationships with its neighbours. ``You need an FDI of $ 10-15 billion every year for the next two decades to sustain the present growth rate, there is no way you're going to get it unless relations with Pakistan are normalised,'' he claimed.
He said India was the most important country for Pakistan and that it determines the security, economic and social environments there. He added that even though proposals to name India as the most favoured nation were being studied, all the positive moves were scuttled due to the Kashmir issue. Speaking on the cause of friction, he said the Partition was a direct consequence of the clash of Islamic and Hindu civilisations.
Qazi also brushed aside feelings of nostalgia and comradeship between the citizens of both countries, saying unless the issue of Kashmir is solved, the goodwill cannot be turnedinto policy. ``If the issue is set aside, there will be a total lack of public support for the negotiations,'' he claimed. He called for the opportunity to disagree on various points, but only after discussions. ``We have to respect each other's point of view for progress in negotiations,'' he added.
No cricket yet: Qazi
The Pakistan High Commissioner was non-committal on Sena strongman Bal Thackeray's invitation for the Pakistan cricket team to play in Mumbai in future. Though he welcomed Thackeray's offer of peace, calling it a ``shift from his earlier stance,'' Qazi was not quite sure of the reaction from Pakistan. ``I hope my countrymen will respond to it positively,'' he said. When asked what transpired at the meeting with Thackeray which influenced the change in his stance, Qazi quipped, ``Do you think I have influenced him? I would be glad if that were so, but why don't you go and ask him about it?''
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
