Pakistan Does U-Turn; Cabinet Rejects Proposal To Import Cotton, Sugar From India

Pakistan Interior Minister Shiekh Rashid said that import of sugar and cotton will be deferred till India restores Article 370 in erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. 

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. (File Photo/ Getty)

Islamabad: A day after Pakistan's Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) allowed the import of cotton and sugar from India, Imran Khan-led Pakistan Cabinet on Thursday rejected the proposal. As per reports, Pakistan Interior Minister Shiekh Rashid said that import of sugar and cotton will be deferred till India restores Article 370 in erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. 

On Wednesday, Pakistan's top decision making body said that Pakistan will buy sugar and cotton from India, lifting a ban on their import from the neighbouring country imposed in the wake of heightened tension over Kashmir in 2019.

Ahead of the Cabinet meeting, Khan's close aide and Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari informed that all ECC decisions have to be approved by Cabinet and only then they can be seen as "approved" by the government.

The meeting was chaired by Hammad Azhar, who was appointed as finance minister by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday.

"Just for the record - All ECC decisions have to be approved by Cabinet & only then they can be seen as "approved by govt"! So today in Cabinet there will be discussion on ECC decisions incl trade with India & then govt decision will be taken! Media shd be aware of this atleast!" Mazari, known for her hawkish stand on Kashmir, tweeted earlier in the day.

Even Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi reiterated the same pitch. "Cabinet deferred decision of ECC to Import Sugar and Cotton from India.....Also Cabinet members including PM felt normalisation of relations with India is not possible till 5th August 2019 decision of abrogating Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir is rolled back," he said.

While informing press about the minutes of the meeting by ECC on Wednesday, Pakistan Finance Minister said that the members discussed 21 items on the agenda, including import of cotton and sugar from India, which it allowed after detailed discussions.

The decision to resume import of sugar and cotton from India raised hope of a partial revival of bilateral trade between the two nations, which were suspended after India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. 

It is to be noted that India is the world's biggest producer of cotton and the second biggest sugar manufacturer.

Touted to be a major diplomatic development to strengthen the peace overtures between New Delhi and Islamabad, ECC decison to resume trade with India after Khan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying creation of an "enabling environment" is imperative for a constructive and result-oriented dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues between Pakistan and India. 

Khan's letter was in reply to PM Modi's letter to him last week extending greeting to Pakistan PM on the occasion of country's National Day.