Indian Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has expressed a desire to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore next month, although he doubts the BJP-led government in New Delhi will allow him to cross the border. Speaking in the Punjab Assembly on Friday, Mann recalled the shared cultural heritage of the two Punjabs and called for the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor, which India suspended in May 2025.
Elsewhere in the neighbourhood, the winds appear to be blowing in a different direction. Earlier this month, a 15-member cultural delegation from Bangladesh landed in Islamabad after a gap of three decades. The visit followed the restoration of direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi in January. Last week, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu concluded a state visit during which Pakistan and the Maldives exchanged 20 memorandums of understanding, besides discussing direct air and maritime links.
Pakistan’s engagement with Nepal offers further possibilities, with both countries emphasising parliamentary exchanges and cooperation through SAARC. Cultural and religious contacts with Sri Lanka, particularly through Buddhist heritage, have likewise opened doors that conventional diplomacy often struggles to unlock. These engagements deserve encouragement, especially when economic and people-to-people connections across South Asia remain woefully inadequate.
According to the World Bank, trade among South Asia accounts for barely five per cent of their total commerce, compared with roughly 25 per cent within ASEAN. Regional trade estimated at $23 billion could potentially reach $67 billion if barriers were eased. Geography offers considerable advantages, yet restrictive trade policies, inadequate transport links and political mistrust continue to stand in the way. South Asians often find it easier to travel halfway around the world than to visit their immediate neighbours.
That brings us to SAARC, whose last summit was held in Kathmandu in 2014. A decade later, the organisation remains largely paralysed at the highest political level. During his Islamabad visit, President Muizzu expressed a willingness to help revive it. Pakistan has repeatedly voiced similar intentions. Yet without India’s participation, meaningful progress will remain difficult.
The Modi government’s reluctance to resume broader engagement also has consequences for smaller South Asian countries, whose interests in trade and climate cooperation deserve greater consideration. Pakistan, for its part, should continue cultivating these relationships through easier visas, direct flights and practical trade arrangements.
The government’s recent diplomatic outreach is welcome, though agreements must eventually translate into regular movement of people and goods.
The people of South Asia have more in common than their governments sometimes care to acknowledge. It would be a pity if another generation were made to pay for political divisions by remaining strangers to neighbours living just across the border.
