The restricted bilateral trade between India and Pakistan is a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, there would have been a deluge of Indian consumer goods, including agricultural produce, into Pakistan, much like the dumping of Chinese items. Pakistan has a limited list of items that can be offered for export to India. Additionally, India follows a regulated and restrictive import policy whereas Pakistan has a liberal import regime which allows import of all type of luxury and unnecessary foreign goods and is responsible for strangulating local industries as well as the farming community.
Even with the present volume, the trade is heavily tilted in favour of India as our imports from India far exceed the exports. To reduce the country’s overall trade deficit and avert the balance of payment crisis, it is imperative that we work for achieving favourable trade balance. In this context, there is an urgent need to review the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA) that are creating distortions in our current account.
Arif Majeed
Karachi
It seems as if the people of Karachi have been left at the mercy of dacoits and hard-core criminals whereas the...
Since the February elections, the provincial governments, especially those in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have...
This letter refers to the news report ‘Air ambulance service to start in June: Maryam Nawaz’ . According to the...
Car-dependency, along with the pervasive absence of any facilities for pedestrians and cyclists during the road design...
Acid attacks are one of the worst forms of gender-based violence in Pakistan. The victims of these attacks are often...
I find it very disturbing that the imprisoned PTI head Imran Khan and other senior party figures are often repeating...