Washington, Jan 23: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated on Wednesday that there have been no discussions with Pakistan regarding the resumption of trade with India. He clarified, “Since last year, there have been no trade talks with Pakistan, nor have they initiated any discussions.” Jaishankar emphasized that India never halted trade with Pakistan; rather, it was the Pakistani government’s decision to suspend it in 2019. He noted, “From the beginning, we aimed for India to be granted most favored nation status. We had extended MFN status to Pakistan, but they did not reciprocate.” The previous Pakistan government, led by Imran Khan, halted all bilateral trade in August 2019 as a reaction to India’s revocation of Article 370, which had conferred special status upon Jammu and Kashmir. Additionally, Islamabad downgraded its diplomatic relations with New Delhi. (Agencies)
