Pak Foreign Office endorses Foreign Minister’s proposal on resuming trade with India

In quick succession, official voices are emerging from Pakistan on resumption of trade with India.

Within a week, first Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and now the Pakistan Foreign Office have talked about a proposal for resuming trade with India.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed that the Foreign Office was reviewing a proposal for resumption of trade with India, Dawn reported.

Recalling a statement by Dar about the business community expressing interest in review of restrictions on trade with India, the spokesperson said, “Examination of such proposals is a regular exercise in the government of Pakistan, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where we continue to consider all such requests and assess our policy.”

The spokesperson said that so far there was no change in Pakistan’s position on the issue.

On March 24, Dar said that the relevant stakeholders would “seriously examine” the trade situation with India as he highlighted the concerns of the business community.

In December, last year, former Pakistan PM and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had stressed the need to improve relationships with Pakistan’s neighbours, stating, “We have to fix our affairs with India and Afghanistan as well, [and] strengthen them further with Iran and China.”

Dar highlighted that the business community often made appeals and demands with regards to the trade situation with India.