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Remove non-tariff barriers, Pakistan official urges India

ISLAMABAD — India needs to remove all non-tariff barriers (NTBs) with a view to ensuring meaningful trade with Pakistan, a senior official of the ministry of commerce said.

"India should remove these NTBs even if Pakistan does not reciprocate the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to New Delhi," he added.

The official linked progress on trade liberalisation with India to removal of NTBs saying Islamabad was ready for bilateral consultation with New Delhi on these issues under Safta.

Pakistan, he said, believed that due to these NTBs and para-tariffs, Pakistani products could not enter the Indian market, which according to the official, was highly protected.

He called upon India to resolve various differences through bilateral talks to avoid any negative impact on trade relations between the two countries.

"India is saying that we are not complying with South Asia Free Trade Agreement (Safta) and insisting to go to different forums like the Committee of Experts or the Council of Commerce Ministers. But we are maintaining that we should first resolve our differences bilaterally as per the Safta agreement," he said.

India, he said, was threatening to withdraw various concessions given to Pakistan. "But this is not the way to sort out the issue and I urge the Indian government to first hold bilateral negotiations to resolve the issues", the official said.

He said Pakistan has fully complied with the Safta rules and regulations and that Islamabad was not violating any rule.