South Asian economy: Benazir's assassination impact

Generally, I am very much indifferent to what is happening in the neighboring countries of India. One of the main reason behind this can be I am not a fan of cricket and I do not follow its news either. But the assassination of Mrs Benazir Bhutto has made me thought about neighbors of India and economy of south Asia. For the last couple of years most of the countries in this region have enjoying good economic growth. Most of this growth is because of the increase in outsourcing to these countries from western countries. Suddenly if we see most of the countries in this region are also facing severe political unrest. from economical point of view most of the countries are too small to have any global impact. Indian and Pakistan are two of the major power in this region and Pakistan is playing and important role as close ally of USA in this region. Pakistan also has one of the largest and most powerful army in this region that is interest for the world. Though Pakistan has a long history of having military rule but this time situation seems quite different. Mr. Mussaraf seems to become the only remaining choice for the people of the country. After Mrs Bhutto, there is no consensus on the future leader for the party. There are some names coming up for discussion but none of them has as strong mass appeal as Mrs Bhutto had. Well, what happens to PPP party and politics is internal matter of the Pakistan but this incidence has created a situation of unrest in the region. This unrest is not good for the growing economy of the region. Perhaps for the first time in the history of Pakistan, it was having growth year after year. But this situation is not good for Indian economy either. It is not good to have military ruler in the neighboring country and particularly when the countries are arc rivals. Though Indian economy is self-sufficient in many sense but the kind of growth it is obeserbing for last 4-5 years can not be achieved solely by internal growth. India should try to do whatever it can do diplomatically to bring democracy back in Pakistan as soon as possible. Though India is known for its wait-and-watch policy rather than doing anything. It did not do much in case of Berma recently too. Though India has central government with the support of left parties but there is not much political unrest. Another political party, BJP, is gaining support in regional elections in India that is good sign for business community. This party had done some good work for the economic growth that we are seeing now. Investors should not much worry about investing in India as fundamentals are still strong in indian companies and vast pool of young talent is there to drive the growth for many years to come. Happy investing in South Asia!