Islamabad: A day after Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) cleared the import of sugar and cotton from India, Pakistan’s Cabinet on Thursday rejected the proposal.
Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters the decision had been “deferred” until New Delhi restored Indian-administered Kashmir’s special status.
Ahmed was referring to the Indian government’s decision of August 5, 2019, to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and to split the state into two union territories.
Trade between India and Pakistan has invariably taken a hit whenever tensions spike between the countries, and this was also case when the 2019 Pulwama suicide attack triggered a military standoff.
The move by the Indian and Pakistani armies to strictly adhere to the ceasefire on the LoC from February 25 was the outcome of behind-the-scenes contacts between the two sides and led to a thaw in relations.
In recent weeks, Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa has spoken of the need to “bury the past and move forward”, while Prime Minister Khan has said India will have to take the first step for improving ties by addressing Kashmir, the only issue standing in the way of better relations.
There has been a frosty stand-off since, but signs of rapprochement recently have included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan exchanging letters, as well as a resumption of talks last week on the use of resources from their shared Indus River.
Pakistan’s economy is in the doldrums, a position made worse by a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic that has seen the reintroduction of partial lockdowns across the country.
The import of half a million tons of sugar would likely have slashed prices by up to 20 percent ahead of the forthcoming fasting month of Ramadan, when consumption soars.
The economic committee had also paved the way for three million tons of wheat to be brought in, as well as unspecified quantities of cotton and yarn.