Pakistan mulling over resuming trade with India, says Ishaq Dar

LONDON: Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar hinted at Pakistan mulling over trade relations with India, ARY News reported on Sunday.

He was talking to media in London after his participation in the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels.

Ishaq Dar, a former finance minister of Pakistan, remarked that the trade with India via Dubai and Singapore has been much expensive.

Trade relations with India were suspended since India’s controversial move to revoke the special autonomous status of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.

He said Pakistan’s business class was eager for restoration of direct trade with India. “We will take a decision after consultations with all stakeholders,” he added.

He said the government would implement a five-year road map to put Pakistan on the road of economic progress and bring down inflation to lessen economic difficulties of the common man.

He said the 16-month government of Shehbaz Sharif saved Pakistan from economic collapse after the bad policies of the previous government which devastated economy of the country.

He said Pakistan had vision for nuclear energy since 1960s and despite the scrutiny of the world it continued to harness the benefits of nuclear energy.

“Now the world is saying that nuclear and hydro energy are the safest and best for taking on the challenge of climate change.”

He said the previous governments of PML-N completed various nuclear projects and 3800 megawatts of electricity were added to the national grid.

While representing Pakistan at the recent nuclear energy summit in Brussels, the foreign minister said he called for aggressive financing from the international financial institutions and multilateral institutions.

To a question about Congressional hearings in the United States about matters related to Pakistan, he urged that Pakistanis should leave behind politics when they were outside the country and get united.

To a question about elections, Ishaq Dar said, “We have comprehensive constitutional and legal cover for elections”, adding different parties got the mandate of the people and it should be accepted.”