No trade till India restores Kashmir’s special status: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – The federal cabinet has turned down Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) proposals to resume trade with India until Kashmir’s special status is restored.

The cabinet took the decision in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Thursday.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said there would be no trade with India until New Delhi scrapped Article 370 in Occupied Kashmir. India is committing human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir, he added.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari and other ministers opposed the ECC decision of resuming trade with neighbouring country.   

Earlier, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said cabinet would review the ECC's decisions regarding trade with India.

Taking to Twitter, the minister wrote, “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!”

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!

— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) April 1, 2021

The Economic Coordination Committee on Wednesday approved the import of sugar, cotton and yarn from India. The ECC meeting, chaired by newly appointed Finance Minister Hammad Azhar, approved to import 0.5m metric tonnes of sugar from India. The government was also considering allowing the import of cotton from India keeping in view shortages of cotton in the country.