Although many rounds of talks have been completed by Pakistan and India to improve the neglected bilateral trade ties, many of the basic and short term measures are yet to be taken. Interestingly, short-term measures mainly relating to trade facilitation were agreed in principle at the Musharraf-Singh meeting but they remain unimplemented so far. According to a report prepared by SAARC in collaboration with Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, the following specific short-term measures were included: A protocol to permit Indian and Pakistani ships to lift cargo for third countries has been signed. This eliminates the reciprocal requirement that ships touch a third-country port before bringing in imports. Third-country port restriction particularly affects trade of high-bulk, low-value goods, such as coal, tar, and cement, makes their transportation via sea commercially unviable. Also, sea shipments in addition to the current Mumbai-Karachi route have been allowed.
