NEW DELHI, Nov 7: India’s foreign minister on Tuesday accused Pakistan of placing hurdles in the way of a fledgling South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) and called for removing trade barriers between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee warned that a regional free trade agreement reached in January 2004 and implemented earlier this year could collapse if Islamabad failed to fully implement key tariff cuts.

“The tariff reduction negotiations have been completed and operationalised from January 1,” he told a forum, adding he hoped to convince Pakistan to remove hurdles during two days of talks between foreign secretaries.

“Our trade with Pakistan is on the basis of a positive list but Islamabad says that it is not free trade and recently expanded the basket by adding 78 items,” Mr Mukherjee said.

“But I am not interested in the number of items. I am interested in seeing that the obstructions, which are there, are removed and there should be free flow of trade,” he said.

The foreign minister warned Safta would collapse if Islamabad did not budge.

“India is suggesting that unless they agree (to implement Safta) what was strenuously built up, it will be difficult to operationalise the agreement.

“I do hope it will be possible to convince them.”

Islamabad has said that it has already cut tariffs on 90pc of the goods India exports to Pakistan.

The trade pact is aimed at lowering barriers between the seven-nation South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) group to create the world’s biggest free trade zone covering 1.4 billion people.

Saarc groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.—AFP