Pakistan backtracks on India trade status

India also does not want to do trade with Pakistan. Therefore, the recent Pakistani decision is a blessing in disguise for India !

New Delhi – A senior Indian Government source accused Pakistan on 2^nd April of backtracking since announcing it had granted its neighbor the trading status of ‘Most Favoured Nation’, but Islamabad immediately denied the allegation. The disagreement exposed potential hurdles in attempts to improve relations between the two traditionally hostile neighbors.

Pakistan announced it was upgrading India to a ‘Most Favoured Nation’ (MFN) on 31^st March, a move that would help normalize commercial ties between the two nuclear-armed rivals by ending heavy restrictions on what India is allowed to export across the border.

The earlier announcement was trumpeted on both sides as a milestone in improving relations shattered by attacks by Pakistan-based militants in Mumbai in 2008. Formal peace talks, known as the ‘composite dialogue’, resumed in February.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said business and political lobbies in Pakistan seemed to have forced the trade move to be put on hold, leaving India to wait and watch as to when the process would resume.

“From the initial announcement of an unconditional grant of a ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status, there appears to be a clear backtrack”, the source said.