PAKISTAN’S relationship with India has finally reached a stage where pleasant surprises are no longer rare. We are not sure at this point whether Pakistanis are ready for an urgent investment in India. It is also not clear whether Pakistan will end up getting electricity from Indian power producers. What restores confidence in our ability to negotiate are images in which Islamabad and New Delhi are engaged in talks that have substance. The signs are that, in this environment, it is not impossible for the two countries to have good-neighbourly ties. Matters have moved fast enough for India to not only allow foreign direct investment from Pakistan, but also for the two countries to discuss facilities such as the opening of banks.

In New Delhi on Friday, Indian Industry Minister Anand Sharma said the procedures and requirements for allowing FDI from Pakistan were in the formulation stage and would be notified “very soon”. A reconfirmation that the two neighbours have reached a stage where they can jointly remove an obstacle came a few hours later: Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram and visiting Pakistani Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim inaugurated an integrated check post at the Attari-Wagah border to benefit travellers. Specifically for Pakistan, it was good to see Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif — who recently refused to receive President Zardari in Lahore — hop across to stand by Mr Fahim’s side during the ceremony. This did appear to be proof of Pakistani consensus on India.

True, these developments have everything to do with global dynamics and the role of the powerful in shaping these dynamics. Of course this is all about the business of give and take for the world does not know a better formula for building a relationship. But there will be some thorny issues on the way as Islamabad and New Delhi walk, and are guided, along the way to ‘normalistaion’, which is but a relative term. A few daunting challenges remain. Kashmir is the most difficult of them. And even if the two sides play friends to local and international galleries at the moment, they have to be careful which deals they strike and at what price. Take electricity from India. If it is going to cost Pakistan more than it can realistically afford, Islamabad must assert its right to buy it from a cheaper source. The idea of a free world based on fair give and take would be jeopardised if it turns out that some of the promises in the Indian package are flaunted just to wean Pakistan away from exploring other — inexpensive — options, say electricity from Iran.