Pakistan to mull restoring trade ties with India: FM

LONDON: Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan will consider restoring trade ties with India that remain suspended since August 2019 when Narendra Modi-led government revoked the special status of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

“Pakistani businessmen want trade with India to resume,” the foreign minister said while addressing the media at the Pakistan High Commission in London at the end of his visit to the UK and Europe on Saturday.

Pakistan downgraded its ties with India after the Modi-led government unilaterally changed the special status of the occupied valley in August 2019 — the decision that Islamabad believed undermined the environment for holding talks between the neighbours.

Pakistan has linked its decision to normalising ties with India with the restoration of special status of IIOJK. Despite the frosty ties, the two countries agreed to renew the 2003 ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) in February 2021.

Lately, Indian PM Narendra Modi congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on becoming the head of Pakistan’s government, prompting hopes for a diplomatic thaw. Shehbaz Sharif responded days later thanking Modi for his “felicitations”.

In the same presser, Ishaq Dar condemned threats to the family of Donald Lu, the US Assistant Secretary of State accused by former prime minister Imran Khan of playing a role in the fall of his regime in April 2022.

The US Assistant Secretary of State, Donald Lu, at the Congressional hearing “Pakistan After the Elections: Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship”, revealed his family had received threats after allegations against him by the former Pakistan PM.

Ishaq Dar said: “Threats to his wife are unfortunate as he said in his opening statement. He revealed this at the sponsored US Congress hearing that his wife was threatened. What happened is sad, regardless of who made threats to Lu’s wife. This reflects badly on Pakistan, no matter who is involved.” Dar said that it would be good if overseas Pakistanis became apolitical while living abroad and thought only about the state and not their political parties.

Dar objected to the observations made about the Pakistan elections at the US hearings. He said allegations of rigging made by PTI made no sense because PTI had won in KP overwhelmingly and it had no objection in KP but raised objections elsewhere. “Whenever a party loses, they make allegations. This is a norm. There are laws and courts to look at such allegations and one should approach the courts. There is higher judiciary. It’s not fair to malign a country.”

Dar said that KP CM Amin Ali Gandapur was very positive during his recent meeting with PM Shehbaz Sharif. “Gandapur said he wanted to work with others peacefully and positively.”

He said Pakistan has suffered a lot in the last few years and didn’t afford repeat of the same. He reminded that Pakistan was making huge progress under Nawaz Sharif in 2017 but then his govt was destablised and removed. He said a great opportunity was ruined and credit for that “destruction goes to the PTI project that was launched for experimentation”. He claimed:

“The quagmire is bigger now and we can move ahead only if we work together.”

Dar said that the new finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is an experienced person and can effectively deal with the economy. “Aurangzeb is a senior and seasoned banker. We have considered him for the financial posts before but it didn’t materialise. I am sure he will do his best. He has support of the whole govt.”

Dar, when asked why he didn’t become the finance minister, said: “There was a lot of hype about me. It’s the prerogative of the PM to appoint a minister and I have said this before too that finance is our domestic need and foreign ministry is the face of Pakistan. Both require hard work and both ministers will support each other. Conventional diplomacy is over and now is the time for economic diplomacy.”

Dar said he had met senior UK govt officials as well as leaders of various European countries and these meetings were great in substance for Pakistan. He said he had met senior UK govt officials as well as leaders of various European countries and these meetings were great in substance for Pakistan.