With Friends Like These: Making Indian Friends in Pakistan

I’ve never been to India but luckily I have several cool friends from there. I wish to see the Taj Mahal, the famous Delhi Mosque, the beaches of Goa and the filmy life of Mumbai. Well, the media had always portrayed India as an extremist, who hates Pakistan to the core. When I talked to people on Skype, I had developed a desire to see Indians coming to Pakistan so that they can understand us better. Luckily, we were successful in calling some of our Indian brothers to Pakistan.

I met two of my awesome friends from India, one of whom had visited Mandi Bahawuddin, his ancestral place. This time, he came with another friend, who was visiting Pakistan for the first time. Both fellows were eagerly waiting to visit Pakistan and as soon as they entered Pakistan, they were excited to meet all their friends here.

When both of them came to Lahore, we being the Lahoris hosted a grand get-together for them at Options Café, Barkat Market, Lahore. Sadly, the incident of Iqbal Park occurred. We were worried that our Indian friends would be upset and would take bad memories with them when they return to India. Thankfully, their kind gestures increased our faith in humanity and we were able to see them leaving Pakistan safely.

While we were gathered at the grand meetup, we had an opportunity to take plenty of photos, videos, selfies and groupfies. Not only that, we were able to share thoughts about each other in a better way. Our Indian friends narrated their experiences in Pakistan, and our Pakistani friends who happened to visit India shared theirs. Some of my friends visit India frequently. So the bottom line is that the media has always spilled lies to spread hatred among us, but we continue to love, honor and respect each other. We will never stop. We love Indians and Indians love Pakistanis.

When I hear about India, I dream about getting lost in the cold winds of Shimla, Siachen, Jammu and Kashmir. I want to roam freely on the beaches in Goa and enjoy the cuisines of different cities in India. I want to meet Indian Bollywood stars. I want to put myself in the shoes of a Mumbaikar. I want to roam freely in Delhi to understand the cultural impacts that the Mughals had on the historical architectures. I want to visit Bengaluru to learn more and more about Information Technology world. I want to travel up north to Amritsar to know more about its similarities it shares with Lahore. I wish our politicians make the visa processes easier. And not to forget, we should have cheaper conveyance facilities too. One day when I enter India, I will take my Pakistani flag with me, tie its knot with the Indian flag, and hug both flags to show to the world that I can die for peace between both countries.