Pakistan’s government has made a swift U-turn on plans to allow limited imports of sugar, cotton and wheat from India after a political backlash against the move.
According to Pakistani media reports, the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee to import cotton and sugar from India to Pakistan has been rejected by the Pakistan’s Cabinet.
Yesterday, Pakistan Finance Minister Hammad Azhar had informed that their government, “in the interest of the people”, has decided to import 0.5 million tonnes of white sugar and cotton from India as Indian sugar was the cheapest in the world and Indian cotton imports would bridge the raw material shortfall for their textile sector.
Pakistan is facing a severe crisis due to shortage of cotton. Pakistan’s Ministry of Textiles had recommended the removal of the ban on import of cotton from India to remove shortage of raw materials.
But today, the Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters the decision had been “deferred” until New Delhi restored Indian-administered Kashmir’s special status.
With this move, it seems like Pakistan’s government is more concerned about political matters than the ‘interest of Pakistan’s people’
Pakistan had snapped trade ties with India following the scrapping of Article 370 in J&K in August 2019 and the division of the state into two new Union Territories.
The trade-related developments have come within days of the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan exchanging letters on having cordial bilateral relations.
