File photo. Narinder Nanu—AFP
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed willingness to “normalize” ties with India, stressing Pakistan has “nothing against anyone.” A few days later, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it, too, wants neighborly ties with Pakistan “but for such relationships, the atmosphere should be free from terror and violence.” Easier said than done, these views point to the importance a greater number of states are placing on regional trade. While Pakistan is pursuing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, India has sought to avoid Beijing’s encirclement by expanding ties with the European Union and Gulf states through the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). While still in the proposal stage, the project heralds a major change to the region, and Pakistan’s offering of peace-through-trade to India in this scenario suggests a new way of thinking about a westward-connected South Asia.
In September 2023, the governments of India, United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, and the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the IMEC, seen as a rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This is a shortsighted view, as the proposed route of the IMEC would actually serve to supplement the BRI’s aims and further encourage regional peace. For the corridor to fulfil its potential, however, member states would need to coalesce around implementation plans that can reconcile their differences and think of new goals along the lines voiced by P.M. Sharif.
Regional peace through trade has loomed large in the Pakistani mind for several years, with multiple leaders showing willingness to “normalize” with India. Ignoring the longstanding political narratives, one can see several instances offering hope of a normalized bilateral relationship. Both countries routinely free each other’s prisoners who mistakenly cross their border and Pakistan annually issues visas to Indian Sikh and Hindu pilgrims to attend various religious festivals; 6,824 in 2023 alone. P.M. Sharif’s stated willingness to “normalize”—hampered by the jingoistic views emerging from India during its ongoing election—is a positive step that could open the path to Islamabad’s entry into the IMEC and facilitate trade between the rival states. If achieved, 2024 could prove a year of “big change” for South Asia.