Uncertainty looms large over Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma’s next week’s visit to Pakistan as Islamabad is yet to resolve issues raised by New Delhi.
“The minister’s visit is subject to Pakistan agreeing to implement the three main proposals agreed on by the two countries to boost the bilateral trade,” a ministry official said.
The commerce secretary in January-end had written a letter to his Pakistani counterpart demanding expeditious implementation of the agreed issues.
The main agreed proposals are allowing trade of all goods through Wagah-Attari border, dismantling of the negative list of 1,209 items and bringing down the sensitive list of items to 100 under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) over a period of five years.
At present, only 137 items can be traded through Attari- Wagah land border. Pakistan had already missed the deadline to eliminate the negative list. Dismantling of the list would automatically lead to grant of Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) to India, though India for long has insisted on Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.
As per the schedule of Sharma’s Pakistan visit, the Minister is expected to inaugurate the ‘India Show’ in Lahore on February 14 and participate in bilateral meetings the next day In Islamabad. The schedule is, however, not yet finalised.
