ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: The United States is persuading Islamabad to give India “Most Favoured Nations (MFN)” status as required under the WTO regime, reliable sources told Dawn.

The commercial secretary of the US embassy in Islamabad has initiated contact with the ministry of commerce to convince the Pakistani government that the decision would help increase trade between the two countries.

Sources said that the US authorities feel that the MFN status was a rule of nondiscriminatory treatment between trading partners according to which any concessions granted by one country must be granted to all without discrimination.

During the informal meeting, the US embassy tried to find out the viewpoint of officials concerned on issues which forbade Pakistan to give the MFN status to India. India has already extended the same to Pakistan.

Sources further said that there was a perception in Pakistan about the term “Most Favoured”, which gives rise to feelings of aversion to granting “Most Favoured Status” to a country which leaves no stone unturned in inflicting harm on Pakistan.

Technically, the reality was different, as there was no “Most Favoured” element in this provision, which only means a nondiscriminatory treatment to all trading nations of the WTO system.

A commerce ministry official told Dawn that a practical difficulty in granting the MFN status to India arose from its hostile attitude in every area ranging from foreign affairs to such innocuous fields as cricket.

Even for trade purposes, the officials said India had blocked aerial and land routes in addition to accumulating forces on our boarder.

“Ironically, India has been using the MFN status issue as a pretext to malign Pakistan and block its entry into the Indian Ocean Rim Organization, Bangkok Agreement etc,” they said.

The officials further said that during the second meeting of the fourth round of SAPTA held in Katmandu in October 2002, the Indian government even refused to exchange concession on more items with Pakistan.

“Why would a country be interested in normal trade relations which otherwise blocks every avenue of dialogue, what to speak of cooperation,” they said.

India-Pakistan trade was heavily dominated by exports from India, both formally and informally, and India has no problem from the trade perspective.

In fact, sub-article-11 of article-XXIV provides cover to Pakistan shall not prevent the two countries from entering into a special arrangement with respect to trade between them, pending the establishment of their mutual trade relations on a definitive basis.

From the trade point of view, the officials said that India imported only about one per cent ($589 million) during 2001-02 from countries in the South Asian region, and exported more than 4 per cent ($2051 million).

The officials said that India at present was interested only in making political mileage out of this issue.