Pakistan to ‘seriously’ consider restoring trade ties with India: FM Dar

Pakistan to ‘seriously’ consider restoring trade ties with India: FM Dar
Islamabad: Pakistan will “seriously” consider restoring trade ties with India that remained suspended since August 2019, Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar has said, indicating a potential shift in diplomatic stance towards the neighbouring nation.

Dar made these remarks during a press conference in London following his participation in the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels, Geo News reported. He highlighted the eagerness of cash-strapped Pakistan’s business community to resume trade activities with India.

“Pakistani businessmen want trade with India to resume,” the foreign minister said on Saturday. Pakistan will consider restoring trade ties with India, he said.

“We will seriously look into matters of trade with India,” Dar was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune newspaper. His remarks indicated a potential shift in diplomatic stance towards India.

Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic ties with New Delhi after the Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into Union Territories.

The decision, Islamabad said, undermined the environment for holding talks between the neighbours. Pakistan has been insisting that the onus of improving the ties was on India and urging it to undo its “unilateral” steps in Kashmir as a sort of pre-condition to start the talks.

India has dismissed the suggestion and made it clear to Pakistan that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were integral and inalienable parts of the country.