LAHORE, Feb 10: The confidence building measures (CBMs) being taken by Pakistan for improving relations with India are not being responded with the same warmth, which is why both the countries could not get benefit from the available opportunities as far as trade is concerned.

This was the upshot of the speeches made at an LCCI-sponsored seminar on Indo-Pak trade sustainability held here on Friday.

The seminar was addressed by provincial tourism minister Aslam Iqbal, PML Senator Zafar Iqbal, Dr Mirajuddin from the Kashmir University, LCCI president Mian Shafqat Ali and former senior vice-president Sohail Lashari.

Almost all speakers were of the view that India should give priority to the issues related to Kashmir and water reservoirs because unless and until these issues were settled, the desired results on the business front could not be achieved.

The tourism minister said Pakistan and India needed to focus on the social and cultural dimensions of their relations besides formal trade mechanisms.

He said both the countries had a lot of potential in the tourism sector, but it could not be tapped only because of lack of friendly atmosphere against the wishes of the people living on both sides of the divide.Senator Iqbal said both the nations had a number of commonalities and could do miracles and make the region a land of peace if provided a chance in true sense of the word.

He said the Kashmir issue was cardinal to maintaining sustainable trade between the two countries as water resources coming from India were getting dry due to construction of upstream dams by the Indians. “Everyone knows that water reservoirs in the subcontinent start from the north of Kashmir, near Ladakh, which is a disputed area between Pakistan and India. In the coming days dependence on river Sindh, which also comes from Kashmir, will also increase. Therefore, there is a dire need to settle all pending issues if the two nations want to see progress and prosperity in real terms.”

He lauded the LCCI for taking a bold step that was full of civic sense. “Such a dialogue must continue so that the people of the two nations understand fully the gravity of the situation and become enlightened enough to press upon their respective governments for early solution to all long-standing issues between Pakistan and India,” he said.

Dr Mirajuddin said there was a need to take sector-specific measures to boost bilateral trade between the two countries as both the nations enjoyed geographical and cultural proximity that could not be ignored.

He stressed the need for change of mindset on both sides of the divide if Pakistan and India were interested in entering into a free trade era.

Talking about market economy, he said wrong perceptions were hampering the bilateral trade as only that country would have better trade volume whose goods would be cost effective and of good quality.

The LCCI president said the negotiation on the Kashmir dispute had kept hostage a quarter of the world’s population for more than half a century. “This is world’s most densely-populated and poverty-stricken area, and we have to address the issues seriously that are coming in the way of our prosperity and coming generations would not forgive us if we could not get the issues solved at the earliest.”

He said for the past couple of years, political issues had been put on the back burner and economic considerations were overriding, and the main objective of the seminar was to address the concerns of the stakeholders in sustainable trade relations between Pakistan and India and to suggest possible remedies.