Islamabad 29 August : Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced on Monday that his government might “consider the possibility of importing vegetables and other items of food from India” to aid people who have suffered from floods that destroyed croplands across Pakistan, reports in the media claimed.Ismail was speaking at a media gathering in Islamabad when he made the statement in response to an inquiry, Radio Pakistan reported.
Pakistan had officially lowered its trade relations with India in August of this year at the same level of Israel with whom Islamabad does not have any trade ties whatsoever.
The decision was an in response to India’s decision to repeal the Article 370 of the Constitution that gave an exclusive status to Jammu and Kashmir.
According to an unnamed source the the former security advisor Moeed Yousuf was working on a few ideas concerning trade with India.According to reports the his former advisor to commerce Razak Dawood also made several appearances to reopen the process of trade with India, Dawn reported.
In March 2021 the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) announced that it would permit the private sector to import 0.5 million tonnes of white sugar from India and cotton through the Wagah border.However the decision was rescinded within days of intense criticism from the two main opposition parties — PML-N as well as PPP — who are currently in the coalition government.
With the shift in the federal government in the last year the Ministry of Commerce in May did not rule out the possibility of the restart of the bilateral trade negotiations that have been delayed, Dawn reported.
The response was issued by the Commerce Ministry over the widespread speculation on social media that the government ruled by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was mulling the possibility of resuming trade with India.
“There there isn’t any change in Pakistan’s trade policy with India,” an official announcement by the Commerce Ministry had said.
However Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in June had argued for the need for engagement and trade with other nations, including India.The minister had put more emphasis on engaging with India and said it was the right time to shift toward economic diplomacy while focus on engagement.
The Foreign Office had subsequently issued clarifications on Bilawal’s remarks in which it stated there was no change in Pakistan’s policies toward its eastern neighbour and there was an “national consensus” on thisissue, Dawn reported.
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