NEW DELHI, July 7: With a fresh call for the resumption of a “composite dialogue” with India to tackle all outstanding problems, including the core issue of Kashmir, Pakistan said on Monday that “early” implementation of its Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) will help increase people-to-people contacts and enhance economic cooperation.

“We should have the composite dialogue to tackle all outstanding issues between the two countries, including Kashmir”, Pakistan High Commissioner-designate Aziz Ahmad Khan told newsmen after the inauguration of the India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPCCI) meeting here at the Indian Federation House.

The third meeting of IPCCI was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Mr Yashwant Sinha.

Aziz Ahmad Khan, who arrived here on June 30, said: “Pakistan believes that a peaceful and secure environment in the region is imperative for the promotion of meaningful economic cooperation and development”.

“To achieve this objective, we must move beyond the rollback of unilateral measures and promote an enlightened vision of amity and cooperation in South Asia”.

Mr Khan, who has to present his credentials to the Indian president, said Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had announced a comprehensive package of confidence-building measures which included restoration of road, rail and air links between the two countries.

“We believe that an early implementation of all these CBMs would help in increasing people-to-people contact and increased economic cooperation between the two countries”, he added.

While the Lahore-Delhi bus service is slated to restart from July 11, he hoped that the Samjhota Express and air services, too, would start “very soon”.

Stressing the need for creating a level-playing field for the development of closer economic cooperation and promotion of trade relations among the regional countries, the Pakistani envoy said that Islamabad “feels that some mega economic projects like Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan and Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline projects would help in promoting trust and regional economic cooperation between Pakistan and India.

Describing as “abysmally low” the share of India and Pakistan in the total regional trade, he said regions where political climate was marred by “acrimony, confrontation and deep distrust” among regional countries, trade and economic cooperation were usually the first casualty.

He said there was a need to overcome the protectionist mind-set using tariff and non-tariff barriers, which went against open trade and economic cooperation.

Citing the example of India extending the most favoured nation (MFN) status to Pakistan, he said throughout the last decade, Pakistan had suffered an adverse balance of trade vis-a-vis India.

“We, therefore, need to look into all aspects of the trade-related issues.”

If the two countries were really interested in promoting trade and economic cooperation within South Asia, he said: “We will have to work to strengthen and expand the existing communication links between the two countries.” —APP