Accord Sure Between India, Pakistan

Peaceful coexistence between India and Pakistan is inevitable, despite the division of the two countries on religious and national grounds for the past 20 years. This is the opinion of the four participants in the International Seminar Forum Wednesday.

A combination of economic necessity, international tension, and gradual softening of popular opinion has recently lead to positive steps toward cooperation between the two countries. As Mr. Bhalchandra Krishna Desai, secretary to the Indian political leader Ramakrishna Bhaha said, "If both don't hang together, we will each hang separately."

Mr. Desai went on to stress the geographical unity of the countries and the necessity for combining military forces. Together the armies could successfully combat the Red Chinese forces in Southeast Asia, while now each country spends too much of its military budget guarding Pakistan-Indian borders.

Mr. Kamal Hossain, barrister at law and lecturer in international law at the University of Dacca, continued to talk about the problems presented by the cold war and the extent to which they have slowed economic advance.

When competing against China, neither country can afford to follow Gandi's philosophy of hastening slowly, he said. They must "hasten with haste." This cannot be done while the largest item in the budget is for defense.

Mr. Nassar Khan, operations manager of the Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Company of Pakistan, commented more fully on the economic situation in Pakistan. In both east and West Pakistan there is almost no industry and few schools or hospitals. There are shortages of everything but unskilled manpower. Since partition the country has "survived on faith alone." But "while in times of stress the people can stand alone, they can't solve their problems alone," he said.

There is however, a dynamic trend towards economic cooperation regardless of political problems. Successful projects have already been undertaken in this field. Mr. Khan stated that the key for both countries lies in undertaking joint projects leading to a loose regional planning commission. International cooperation in areas of transportation and utilization of natural resources is worth exploring and has already proved fruitful.

Mr. Bhabani Sen Gupta, deputy director of New Service Division of All India Radio, pointed out the recent cooperation on the political scene: the definition of the physical frontier and the freezing, if not solving, of the Kashmir dispute. While there was still a great deal to be done, the challenge of co-existence has been accepted in both countries, he said.