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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  No discussions yet on withdrawal of Pakistan MFN status: Commerce minister
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No discussions yet on withdrawal of Pakistan MFN status: Commerce minister

MFN status was accorded to Pakistan in 1996 as per the stipulations of the World Trade Organisation and withdrawal of the same could be a long-drawn process

Nirmala Sitharaman said that though India accorded MFN status to Pakistan almost 20 years back, there has been no reciprocal move. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/MintPremium
Nirmala Sitharaman said that though India accorded MFN status to Pakistan almost 20 years back, there has been no reciprocal move. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

New Delhi: In an indication that withdrawal of the most-favoured nation status (MFN) to Pakistan may not be on the immediate agenda of the Union government, commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government has not deliberated on the issue so far.

“There have been no discussions on withdrawal of most-favoured nation status to Pakistan so far," she said in a press conference on Friday.

MFN status was accorded to Pakistan in 1996 as per the stipulations of the World Trade Organisation and withdrawal of the same could be a long-drawn process.

Last month, the Indian government considered revisiting the MFN status to Pakistan along with a review of the Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of the 18 September terrorist attack in Uri in north Kashmir, in which 18 Indian Army soldiers were killed and 18 wounded.

A hard look at the MFN status was part of India’s efforts to impress upon Pakistan that it cannot be business as usual between the two countries till Islamabad reins in terrorists operating from its soil.

Soon after, India retaliated by conducting cross-border surgical strikes across the Line of Control on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Sitharaman said that though India accorded MFN status to Pakistan almost 20 years back, there has been no reciprocal move.

At present, trade with Pakistan accounts for less than 1% of India’s total trade.

“MFN is based on reciprocity. And it was extended by India to Pakistan on the basis of goodwill. But this was not reciprocated by Pakistan," she said.

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Published: 14 Oct 2016, 09:48 PM IST
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