By Manzoor Chandio
Updated on July 20, 2008
THERE is a great potential for bilateral trade among South Asian nations especially India and Pakistan and it will be unrealistic to lose sight of the larger picture.
If take a journey through South Asian history, this is the region where men built some of the world's first planned cities along the Indus and Sarasvati rivers, created one of the world's first written languages (the Indus script), grew cotton and made cloth from it.
There was a significant enterprising community that exported Indus-made products the world over.
"Just as American culture is currently exported, along with goods and media, so too were the seals, pottery style, script of the Indus valley spread among the local settlements," says Indian historian Shanti Menon.
The problem is that inheritors of this great civilization are now divided on narrow communal lines.
South Asia was the first region to win independence from colonial servitude but it still lags behind many others due to a limited vision.
It is time to see why people in Pakistan have lagged behind educationally, culturally and economically when we compare them with others in South Asia.
If we look at the turn of events since the decolonization of South Asia, Pakistan mainly under military dictatorships has not developed despite having a lot of resources.
There is no doubt that this country can progress in the larger South Asian family if it takes sincere efforts for a South Asian economic union and settles all issues through a dialogue.
Updated on July 20, 2008
THERE is a great potential for bilateral trade among South Asian nations especially India and Pakistan and it will be unrealistic to lose sight of the larger picture.
If take a journey through South Asian history, this is the region where men built some of the world's first planned cities along the Indus and Sarasvati rivers, created one of the world's first written languages (the Indus script), grew cotton and made cloth from it.
There was a significant enterprising community that exported Indus-made products the world over.
"Just as American culture is currently exported, along with goods and media, so too were the seals, pottery style, script of the Indus valley spread among the local settlements," says Indian historian Shanti Menon.
The problem is that inheritors of this great civilization are now divided on narrow communal lines.
South Asia was the first region to win independence from colonial servitude but it still lags behind many others due to a limited vision.
It is time to see why people in Pakistan have lagged behind educationally, culturally and economically when we compare them with others in South Asia.
If we look at the turn of events since the decolonization of South Asia, Pakistan mainly under military dictatorships has not developed despite having a lot of resources.
There is no doubt that this country can progress in the larger South Asian family if it takes sincere efforts for a South Asian economic union and settles all issues through a dialogue.
