Trade ties between Pakistan and India have largely been frozen since the latter revoked held Kashmir’s special constitutional status in August 2019. However, the Ministry of Commerce says there is “no change in Pakistan’s policy on trade with India” — meaning that commercial links will continue to remain frozen — while adding that the posting is a routine affair and not a prelude to normalisation of trade ties.
With a change in the federal government, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has ruled out the possibility of a resumption of stalled bilateral trade with India.
The response came from the commerce ministry over the widespread speculation on social media that the new government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is considering a proposal to resume trade with its arch rival India.“There is no change in Pakistan’s policy on trade with India,” an official announcement from the commerce ministry said.An official source in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat told Dawn that the appointment of a trade officer in New Delhi is one of the routine postings, adding that the post of trade officer in the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi has been vacant for years.
The prime minister has approved a senior officer of the Commerce and Trade Group, Qamar Zaman, for posting in New Delhi.
He is one of the 15 officers appointed for posting in various countries. “The selection process for the appointment of all these trade officers was started by the previous government,” the official in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said.“We have not changed anything in the summary of the previous government,” the source said, adding the selection process was found on merit.
According to a source in the commerce ministry, the appointment of a new trade officer in New Delhi, like the previous two before him, will not get a visa and his time will end.
Therefore, it is unlikely that India will grant a visa to the new officer appointed by Islamabad for posting in New Delhi if India follows its previous policy.
The source added that earlier, the government appointed two trade officers for posting in New Delhi but they were denied visas.
According to the announcement, the MoC manages 57 trade missions in 46 countries, which includes the post of Minister (Trade and Investment) in New Delhi, India.
The post of Minister (Trade and Investment) in New Delhi has existed for more than two decades and has no connection with the operationalisation of trade with India or otherwise in the current context. If ties improve with India through trade, it may create more conducive conditions to resume bilateral dialogue, as well as negotiations, to peacefully and judiciously resolve the decades-old Kashmir dispute. Therefore, bold and innovative thinking is required of the government. Let it explore the prospects of resuming trade, especially if it works in favour of reviving the local economy.
The prime minister has approved a senior officer of the Commerce
and Trade Group, Qamar Zaman, for posting in New Delhi.
