Tridivesh Singh Maini

Nawaz Sharif inspects a guard of honor after becoming prime minister

Nawaz Sharif has taken over the reins of Pakistan at a time when it is afflicted with multiple problems, the primary ones of course being terrorism and an economy on the verge of collapse.

But what is creditable is that he has got down to business from the word go. His sharp business acumen and pragmatism, which have stood the country in good stead in the past, have guided his priorities so far.

The focus on ties with India so far has been purely economic, with the government of Punjab (Pakistan) and Islamabad showing interest in buying power, 500 megawatts for the time being, from India. New Delhi too has been encouraging in its response, with a couple of delegations having already visited Pakistan to discuss the modalities. If the two countries can make a start in this direction, the journey towards Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline will be much smoother, and other ventures for greater cooperation in the realm of energy can be explored.

Apart from economic cooperation, there are some other points that will be positive for India-Pakistan ties.

Firstly, the fact that members of religious minorities in Pakistan have found representation in the national and Punjab assemblies from Sharif's party has not gone unnoticed in India - at least in the print media. While in the short run this may have no direct bearing on some of the problems the country is facing, it is extremely important because it sends a signal that Sharif - a religious conservative - is keen to build a Pakistan on the lines imagined by its founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. For long the status of minorities in Pakistan, especially the Hindus and Sikhs, was not doing any good to Pakistan's image and this was easily exploited by hardliners in India. But this step has definitely gone a long way in correcting that impression. Besides, these members of the minority community can also raise issues pertinent to their community.

Secondly, President of Pakistan-India Friendship Association Arif Chaudhry met Indian Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal recently and discussed ways of increasing linkages between the two Punjabs. Chaudhry spoke about potential investments both by individuals and the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee in the holy city of Panja Sahib. That would be a win-win situation for everyone - the holy city will get the status it deserves, the visits by Sikh pilgrims from India will be more regular, and there will be investments from India. There will be greater people-to-people contact and that will help remove misgivings.

Thirdly, even some skeptics - not necessarily hawks - with regard to India-Pakistan relations have been appreciative of the steps being taken by Sharif and his commitment to improving ties between the two countries.

Some future steps that could help Pakistan and also improve ties between Islamabad and New Delhi are the granting of MFN status, and increasing people-to-people contacts. Sharif must also encourage greater interaction between the provincial government of Sindh with its counterpart state governments in Rajasthan and Gujarat, to help expand the peace constituency in these regions too. It is imperative that issues of trade and commerce are de-hyphenated from other political issues to whatever degree possible. Excessive involvement of other bureaucratic forces slows things down, since the semantics take over. It is important to leave engagement to the ministries concerned, without too much interference. The best example is how the commerce ministries from both sides were given a free hand to explore synergies and they were reasonably successful, before the tensions across the LOC in January and of course the election season in Pakistan. Finally, it is important to explore ways of easing out the visa regime, so that the public can interact freely.

Nawaz Sharif has a long way to go before one can judge his performance, but well begun is half done.

The Friday Times : June 28 - July 04, 2013