Ishaq Dar leaves after a press briefing, in Islamabad, Pakistan June 10, 2023.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that trade ties between Islamabad and New Delhi have remained suspended since 2019 due to the imposition of “heavy duties” by India on imports from Pakistan after the Pulwama attack.

In a written reply submitted to the National Assembly on Saturday, Mr. Dar, who also holds the deputy Prime Minister’s slot, said: “India decided to impose 200% duty on imports from Pakistan, suspended the Kashmir bus service and trade across the Line of Control after the Pulwama attack.”

According to the Dawn newspaper, Mr. Dar was responding to a question by Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Sharmila Faruqui seeking details about trade challenges faced by Pakistan in its relations with neighbouring countries, especially India.

In March, during a press conference in London, Mr. Dar highlighted the eagerness of Pakistan’s business community to resume trade activities with India. However, his office later clarified that Pakistan has no plan to resume trade relations with India which has been “non-existent” since 2019.

Pakistan downgraded its ties with India after the Indian Parliament suspended Article 370 on August 5, 2019, a decision that Islamabad believed undermined the environment for holding talks between the neighbours.

“We have consistently advocated constructive engagement and result-oriented dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir with India…,” Mr. Dar said on Saturday.

The Foreign Minister said that the “onus is now on Delhi to take steps for the creation of an environment that is conducive to peace and dialogue”.

India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment that is free of terror and hostility for such an engagement.

Islamabad and New Delhi have a long history of strained relations, primarily due to the Kashmir issue as well as the cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with UP CM Yogi Adityanath during roadshow on the eve of filing his election nomination papers, in Varanasi on May 13, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a strong leader who has taken India to new heights and he will return as the country’s PM for a third term, a prominent Pakistani-American businessman has said.

Click here for Lok Sabha Elections 2024 LIVE updates:

Baltimore-based Pakistani American businessman Sajid Tarar said Modi is not only good for India but for the region and the world and hoped that Pakistan too gets a leader like him.

“Modi is a remarkable leader. He’s a natural-born leader. He is the one prime minister who has visited Pakistan in adverse circumstances and risked his political capital. I’m expecting that Modi ji will start dialogue and trade with Pakistan,” Mr. Tarar said.

“A peaceful Pakistan is good for India as well. It is written everywhere that Modi ji will be the next prime minister of India,” Mr. Tarar said in response to a question.

Tarar moved to the U,S, in the 1990s and is well-connected with the ruling Pakistani establishment.

‘Rise of India amazing’

“It is nothing but a miracle that 97 crore people in India are exercising their franchise. India is the biggest and largest democracy. I’m seeing the popularity of Modi ji up there and the rise of India in 2024 is amazing. It’s a story to be told. You will see it in the future that people will learn from Indian democracy,” Mr. Tarar said.

PoK protests

Responding to a question, Mr. Tarar said Pakistan is going through an economic crisis which has resulted in social unrest in many parts of the country including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“Pakistan is going through an economic crisis. Inflation is high. Petrol prices are high. The IMF wants to increase taxes. Electricity costs have gone up. We are not able to export,” he said. The protest in PoK is mainly due to the increase in electricity bills, he said.

Also read: No need to capture PoK by force; its people will themselves want to join India, Rajnath Singh feels

He questioned the decision of the Pakistani Prime Minister to give financial aid to the people of PoK.

“Where is the money going to come from? It’s discussing a new aid package from the IMF. Pakistan is going through a financial crisis,” he said.

“Regrettably, there is no effort to resolve the grassroots issues. How to increase exports. How to bring terrorism under control, and improve law and order. Currently, there is unrest in Pakistan like Kashmir (PoK), and there is political instability. We wish that we get some leadership who can take us to the next level away from all these issues,” Mr. Tarar said.

India, he said, is benefiting from its young demographic.

Pakistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Pakistan on March 28 clarified that it has no plan to resume trade relations with India which has been “non-existent” since 2019 after the Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

The clarification from Pakistan’s Foreign Office comes days after the new Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in London that Pakistan will seriously consider restoring trade ties with India that have remained suspended since August 2019.

In August 2019, India suspended Article 370 giving special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into centrally-administered Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

At the weekly briefing here, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked to comment on reports about the possibility of resumption of trade ties with India.

“Pakistan-India trade relations have been non-existent since 2019 when India took illegal steps in the illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir … There is no change in Pakistan’s position on it,” Ms. Baloch said.

Foreign Minister Mr. Dar, during a press conference in London on March 23, highlighted the eagerness of Pakistan’s business community to resume trade activities with India, indicating a potential shift in diplomatic stance towards its neighbouring nation.

Pakistan downgraded its ties with India after the Indian Parliament suspended Article 370 on August 5, 2019, a decision that Islamabad believed 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.

New Delhi has also asserted that the constitutional measures taken by the Indian government to ensure socio-economic development and good governance in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are matters internal to India.

It has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment that is free of terror and hostility for such an engagement.