IN an atmosphere lacking the usual rancour that characterises their relationship, India and Pakistan announced they would resume 'normal' trade ties in February 2012. “We are talking of a complete normalisation road map,” the Pakistani commerce secretary said at the end of talks with Indian officials in New Delhi on Tuesday. In Pakistan, stakeholders have reacted with 'caution', but their views this time have more to do with a desire to have equal or sufficient business opportunities in India than with opposing Indian trade with Pakistan. It appears the businessmen here are broadly in agreement with Islamabad's policy of strengthening ties with India. So much so that they see a possible agreement for the provision of 500MW of electricity to Lahore from Amritsar as a better option than hoping for power supply from independent power producers in Pakistan. As the details are worked out, the Pakistani businessmen's main concern of having opportunities to work in India must be addressed. Businessmen here want India to set a date for the liberalisation of the visa regime. This is an issue that New Delhi must tackle with urgency. It is an area that can contribute to reducing the trust deficit and also boost the present government's effort to portray enhanced trade ties with India as beneficial for Pakistan.

India is what the PPP-led government has been concentrating on as the pressure on it to perform has increased. The end of the February deadline for the normalisation of ties with India is not a bad plank at all in terms of Pakistan's domestic politics. The federal government is faced with all kinds of threats from street protests to en masse opposition resignations from parliament in the lead-up to the Senate elections slated for March 2012, in which the PPP is expected to make significant gains. The planned patch-up with India by the end of February is a handy 'coincidence' that may be used to ensure crucial international support for the continuation of the current dispensation and some of its regionally and globally vital policies.