KARACHI: Pakistan and Indian legislators and public officials, highlighting the need to share experience on governance and democracy between Pakistan’s provinces and states of India, have agreed that the matter should not be made hostage to political and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The participants of the event called upon both countries to utilise the existing forums to resolve the water dispute, meet the challenges of land reforms and mechanisation of agriculture, utilise land route for trade, increased professional autonomy for the private sector and e-governance for the growth of business. They also stressed the need to improve visa policies to facilitate touristic movement.

These views were expressed in a joint statement issued at the end of a day-long dialogue on the subject of agriculture, business and investment, and tourism. The dialogue was held in a hotel here on Thursday under the auspices of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat). The participants in the event included Mangi Lal Garasiya and Kuljit Singh Nagra from Indian National Congress and Vidhan Sabha from India. The delegates from Pakistan included Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo and MPAs Dr Abdul Sattar Rajpar, Faqir Dad Khoso, Fayaz Ali Butt, Hafeezuddin, Kulsoom Akhtar Chandio and Mahtab Akbar Rashdi.

The joint statement comprising 22 points further observed that participants from the two countries believed that experience-sharing on governance through dialogue had been much more useful than anticipated and as such experience-sharing and dialogue on governance and democracy should not be hostage to political and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Appreciating the Pildat initiative, the representatives of both Pakistan and India said that it should be continued and reinforced.

The participants conducted candid and comprehensive discussions on the present status of agriculture, business and investment and tourism in Pakistan and India and acknowledged the need to improve bilateral relationship between the two neighbouring countries. They called for cooperation on learning from each other on good practices, on improving governance and democracy and they focussed on improvement in the lives of the citizens of the two countries.

They also observed that both countries must focus on improvement of agriculture as a major sector of growth. Legislators and citizens must join hands to lobby for comprehensive, growth-oriented reforms in agriculture in both countries.

Participants suggested that a joint forum of farmers between India and Pakistan be created to facilitate mutual learning and an exchange of good practices, including more efficient use of rainwater. Land reforms and mechanisation of the agricultural sector were unanimously agreed upon as key areas that required concentration by representatives of both India and Pakistan to increase crops yield.

They also dicussed challenges such as the raising of net availability of food grains, tackling of poverty and hunger, non-availability of water due to its misuse, adulterated pesticides, smuggling of seeds and their poor quality mixing, high electricity tariffs and low literacy rate and their effects on the development of the agriculture sector. They highlighted the need for forums for sharing problems faced by farmers in both Pakistan and India.

Participants said the two countries must utilise the existing forums to resolve water disputes.

The two sides discussed in detail the business and investment scenarios and strategies in play in both countries. Focusing on the model of Gujarat in India, participants said greater avenues of learning could be used from the Gujarat model to understand how the state managed rapid industrialisation and investment in business.

Underscoring the need for equitable distribution of growth, the two sides agreed that lessons must be drawn from disparity in rapid progress among the Indian states.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2015

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