Two Faces of Pakistani Cotton Industry in India

HERE are two faces of Pakistan. Lahore-based Almas Ali Jovindah is young, English-speaking, urbane and upwardly mobile. He has an export business operating out of Pakistan and the USA and spends his free time anchoring TV talk shows. Then there’s Jethanand Kohistani— Urdu-speaking, raw cotton dealer from Karachi. And both are in Pune for the ongoing Indo-Pakistan Reverence Conference and nourish dreams of better trade with India. Kohistani (57), who was the chairman of Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association, has already met with several cotton exporters and textile merchants here, while Jovindah, who exports organic rice and hand-woven carpets, is on the lookout for agri-based business tie-ups.