ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has said that the government will decide to allow imports from India after the devastating floods after reviewing the supply situation in the country, consulting with allies and key stakeholders.
In a statement on the social media website, the finance minister said that more than one international agency has approached the government to allow them to import food items from India through the land border route.
In his tweet, Miftah Ismail said that the government will decide whether or not to allow imports from India based on consultation with its allies, key stakeholders and the supply shortage situation.
Reacting to Miftah Ismail’s statement, Muslim League (N) leader Muhammad Zubair said that the country is in dire need of food items.
He added that it would be a criminal act not to import at cheap rates within a short period of time.
He said that as we say we can do politics later, similarly we can do world politics later.
Two days ago, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the government may consider importing vegetables and other food items from India for the convenience of the people as the recent floods have destroyed crops across the country.
Miftah Ismail said that he is generally in favor of farmers earning money and does not want to open imports, but this is an “exceptional situation” and trade with India can be opened if needed.
Besides, the issue was also raised in the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce today.
Senator Palusha Khan asked whether the government is considering a decision to import onions and tomatoes from India, to which Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar replied that currently the government has decided to import goods from Iran and Afghanistan.
He asserted that no decision has been taken yet on importing onions and tomatoes from India.
Naveed Qamar told the Standing Committee that the government will facilitate the import of goods from Iran and Afghanistan to private companies.
The commerce minister said that a decision regarding imports from India will be taken after consultation with all stakeholders, while no permission has been given in this regard yet.
The commerce minister told the standing committee that crops have been destroyed due to floods and the country may face food shortage from next month.
He said that ready-made crops were damaged by the flood, while new crops could not be cultivated due to the inundation of the fields, he pointed out that the prices of vegetables were increasing.
It should be noted that on August 9, 2019, the federal cabinet suspended bilateral trade with the neighboring country after India’s unilateral move to change the special status of occupied Kashmir. On August 5, the Indian government canceled the special status of occupied Kashmir. Article 370 of the Constitution was repealed.
According to a Dawn report on February 21, 2022, former adviser on trade, textiles, industry and production and investment Abdul Razak Dawood said that trade with India is the need of the hour and beneficial for both countries.
In March 2021, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had announced that it would allow the private sector to import 5 lakh tonnes of sugar and cotton from India through the Wagah border, but the current coalition government and then opposition parties P.M. The decision was heavily criticized by L(N) and PPPK, which was withdrawn within days.
After the change of government on May 11, 2022 this year, the Federal Ministry of Commerce had said that the appointment of the Trade Minister should not be linked with the restoration of trade with India as no change has been made in the trade policy.
In a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Commerce, despite the suspension of trade, the decision to appoint a Trade Minister in India was confirmed at the official level.
The reaction came at a time when speculations were rife on social media that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government was considering resuming trade with India.
On June 16, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while supporting trade and ties with other countries, especially India and the United States, said that due to past policies, Pakistan was isolated globally.
In his speech, Bilawal Bhutto said that while giving more emphasis on diplomatic relations with India, now is the time to focus on economic diplomacy and relations between the two countries.
The foreign minister’s argument was that despite a long history of war and conflict and the Indian government’s actions in Occupied Kashmir and its anti-Muslim agenda, it is not in Pakistan’s interest to remain disconnected.
On June 17, 2022, the Foreign Office explained the statement given by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari regarding relations with India and said that there has been no change in Pakistan’s policy regarding relations with the eastern neighboring country, while the current There is a national consensus on the policy.