ISLAMABAD: The ten-year embargo on trade between Pakistan and India will be lifted on Dec 7 under a trade protocol the two countries signed today [Nov 30] in New Delhi. The protocol, which is the product of five days of negotiations of their delegations held in the Indian capital, provides that the two countries will accord each other the “most-favoured-nation” treatment in trade. The trade will be conducted on the basis of free convertible currency in accordance with the two countries’ foreign exchange regulations.

Till it was stopped in 1965, the trade between India and Pakistan was carried on mostly on a barter-cum-cash basis. The protocol, released simultaneously in Islamabad and New Delhi … further provides [that] to begin with, unless otherwise agreed, the two countries will conduct trade on government-to-government basis or through their government-controlled corporations. Experts of the two countries will meet in December next to work out details regarding restoration of direct shipping services… . Discussion will also be arranged at a mutually convenient time for the restoration of … rail links to serve mutual trade. An India-Pakistan trade agreement will be concluded “in the near future”… . — News agencies

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024