Trade with India on fair and equal terms would be great for both countries. First of all I am Pakistani living in US for the past 20+years, and had great friends of all religions, Hindu, Sikhks, Muslims from India. My thinking while living in Pakistan was same as some of you, but I lived in Pakistan during 1980s, the height of tension between India and Pakistan, no Bollywood movies were allowed, only few smuggled VCR tapes, but people still wanted to see those Indian movies, particularly Madhuri and Amitabh Bachan movies.
Since moving to US, I recognized early on, how misguided our minds were in Pakistan, particularly during Zia's times, but the friends from India were equally misguided by their Indian government and surprised to meet someone from Pakistan who could have alot more in common with them than any other nationality in the world, and initially expressed how the gov't and politicians in their country could misrepresent Pakistan, and I was glad to shed that cloak of mistrust and hatred of Indians when I met real Indians during my early school years in New York City.
Its time that we look beyond mutual suspicions based entirely on what gov't contolled media tell to both sides, and use INTERNET for our new way of thinking and respecting each other. India is a big country with alot of diversity. We in Pakistan should have been better off, if we had more diversity in our country, i.e. more Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Budhists, etc. so that we could learn to live peacefully not only with Non-Muslims, but also Muslims (Shias and Sunnis, Barelvis, Deobandis, etc. whom are often at odds with one another).
I only have right to speak on behalf of Pakistan, as I never lived in India but I can see the Positive sides of India, i.e. its Highly Diverse society which has benefitted all its people. Azam Premji, the founder of Wipro (A multi Billion dollar Indian Multinational Software Giant), is a MUSLIM Indian, if India had no tolerance for Muslims, there would have been no likes of Azim Premji, not a single one. My local Mosque in US is led by doctors and Engineers of Muslim Indian origin, who love India as much as they love USA. I can see why they love India, a country that gave them good education not only Secular, but also to learn their Deen (religious educatio), many of these Indian Doctors and Indian Engineers that are Muslim are good practicing Muslism, some even Haafiz-e-Quran.
So, please people of Pakistan, my dear Brothers, change your thinking about India, before its too late. India is not our enemy but the biggest enemy of Pakistanis, as we all know now is within Pakistan, its our own inability to welcome Diversity and change, and accepting people of other faith, what is far more dangerous is beginning to hate the people of differing view points within Muslims of Pakistan, that belong to different ethnicities, i.e. ethnic violence in Karachi, the usual and shame acts of target killing, the shooting of Shias and Sunnis... What is all this, Is India behind all of this or WE THE PAKISTANIS are behind all our mess and problems..
Think about it, if you really want to save Pakistan, my dear fellow Pakistanis.. God Help us, and God help us open up our minds first...
The positive thing is that Most Pakistanis, I would conjecture more than 90%, are NOT Anti-India, as I was in Pakistan few months back, and most display same type of Thinking, as myself. People living there life, singing Indian songs, and discussing latest Bollywood movies.
I was glad to see that. While in Pakistan, I also noticed alot of Indian products that Pakistan was also already making, ordinary items like Toothpaste, Toothbrush (Amar brand), and Black Diamond Cigars which I really loved. All these had clearly marked Made in India on it, and most people buy these products and dont care where its made, as long as they can afford to buy and enjoy it.
