ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday said trade with India was not on the cards, citing the unchanged situation in held Kashmir since the 2019 events that led to the initial suspension.

“The situation remains intact, and at this point there are no bilateral talks between the two countries with respect to bilateral trade between Pakistan and India,” FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly media briefing.

She was responding to a question regarding India’s lack of reciprocation to Pakistan’s overtures for restoring trade relations.

Pakistan had suspended trade with India after it revoked the special status of the Occupied Jammu and Kashmir region in August 2019 in a controversial move.

Leaders of PML-N government have on multiple occasions since coming to office earlier this year expressed Shehbaz Sharif administration’s willingness to reevaluate trade relations with India, with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar emphasising the Pakistani business community’s eagerness to revive trade ties during a London press conference on March 23.

Rooted in a semi-urban and industrialist coalition led by Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N has historically championed the economic benefits of normalised trade with India. But a potential resumption of trade, despite the 2019 controversial move, could indicate a strategic shift in Pakistan’s approach towards the dispute while prioritising economic interests.

Referring to a recent incident of killing of four Kashmiri youths by Indian forces in the Doda district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the spokesperson said it showed the unlawful and repressive tactics employed by the Indian authorities against the Kashmiris.

“We urge the international community to take immediate and decisive action to hold India accountable for its egregious human rights violations in IIOJK and to take steps to protect the rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people,” she said.

Gaza ceasefire

Commenting on the Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha, the spokesperson welcomed the diplomatic effort and recalled that Islamabad has repeatedly since October 2023 called for an urgent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza.

The negotiations, however, were suspended on Friday without any breakthrough.

The devastating ten-month barrage of Gaza and other Palestinian communities by Israel has left a staggering trail of over 40,000 casualties, underscoring the desperate need for an immediate ceasefire. Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, blamed on Israel by both Hamas and Iran, has only added to the sense of urgency, as tensions between Iran and Israel are now running precariously high.

The spokesperson skirted a question about the absence of Hamas from the talks saying, “Pakistan is not party to these talks in Doha. So we are not in a position to comment on the details of these negotiations.”

She separately noted that Pakistan was “not involved in any mediation” to defuse the situation in the Middle East.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2024