Pak agrees to grant MFN status to India: Report

Islamabad, Aug 28 (PTI) Pakistan has agreed to grant the
Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India, something which
New Delhi had been demanding for many years, a media report
said Sunday.
A senior official of the Ministry of Trade said on
the condition of anonymity that the status of MFN would be
granted during the current year, Urdu daily Jang reported.
Pakistan has in return asked for immediate lifting of
non-tariff restrictions on its exports to India.
Sources said that Trade and Commerce Minister Makhdoom
Amin Fahim would soon announce basic changes in Pakistan's
trade policy.
One of the amendments will be a draft to review the list
of trade items between the two countries.
According to the source, Pakistan has agreed to grant
MFN status to India this very year in return for lifting the
non-tariff restrictions on imports from Pakistan. This will
fulfill the long-standing Indian demand in return for lifting
of non-tariff restrictions alone.
The report comes ahead of a possible meeting between the
Commerce Ministers of India and Pakistan after a gap of over
three years in New Delhi next month to discuss ways to boost
trade and proposals to remove non-tariff barriers as the two
countries make efforts to normalise relations.
Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has invited his
Pakistani counterpart Fahim, a senior leader of the ruling
Pakistan People's Party, to visit New Delhi for the meeting.