In 2010, Bangladesh and India signed a comprehensive agreement covering a range of issues, one of which was the promotion of cross-border trade through the establishment of border haats. A haat is a small local market that enables low volume trade among communities. It was agreed that 10 weekly haats in remote border areas will be opened and allowed to trade in locally produced commodities, completely free of duties and taxes
These haats have been cited as exemplary models by the World Bank. WB contends that this initiative recognized the long-standing ties of the sub-region and gave a formal avenue for exchange. Haats helped built trust and promote goodwill among bordering communities and reduced conflict caused due to smuggling.
Pakistan and India have at various points conducted exercises in futility of promoting peace through high level talks. The latest debacle which culminated in a statement of “small men who occupy big offices” is just another rerun of a movie that has been replayed far too many times. Evidently, peace cannot be a top-down process.
Pick up any Indian newspaper or media outlet, the anti-Pakistan content is staggering. In the recent Asia Cup, one of the Indian commenters spoke about the benefits of having a bilateral India-Pakistan series. A number of comments by the Indian public were not only vitriolically anti-Pakistan, they questioned the patriotism and intellect of the commentator. Sidhu’s hug which led to his effigies being burnt is another example of strong anti-Pakistan sentiment.
To bring much desired peace in the region, vast majority in both countries have to stop viewing one another as enemies. If the blood shed over the years has run too deep for friendship, surely peaceful coexistence is not too extravagant a hope.
Border trade in the form of haats could be a step in that direction. Promotion of border trade is a high visibility-low cost image building exercise as per a paper by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. It has been leveraged by India as a confidence building measure to project India as a mature political entity committed to regional peace.
Pakistan and India are no strangers to border trade. In 2008, a MoU was signed between the two countries to allow cross border trade along the Line of Control. The intra-Kashmir trade is similar to haats in that it is supposed to be barter in nature and no duties are levied on items traded.
However, it faces restrictions such as limitations to the number of days in a week trucks are allowed to cross LoC and number of trucks allowed to cross.
The volume of border trade in the form of haats would most likely be insignificant given its limited nature. However, it could be invaluable in reducing trust deficit, encouraging constructive engagements, reducing friction. Small steps of trust building exercises at people-to-people level could provide the political equity necessary for leaders to move towards regional peace.
