ISLAMABAD, Apr 1:
In a volte-face, Pakistan’s Cabinet today rejected the recommendation of the Economic Coordination Committee to import cotton and sugar from India, with two senior Ministers saying there can be no normalisation of ties with New Delhi until it reverses its decision in 2019 to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
The somersault came a day after the high-powered committee under newly appointed Finance Minister Hammad Azhar on Wednesday decided to import the two key items from India, lifting a nearly two-year long ban on their import from the neighbouring country.
The issue was under speculation since afternoon but officials kept mum and finally the first confirmation came from Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, who is known for her hawkish stand on Kashmir.
“Today Cabinet stated clearly NO trade with India,” Mazari tweeted soon after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan today.
Mazari said that Prime Minister Khan, who chaired the first Cabinet meeting after testing COVID-19 positive on March 20, “made (it) clear (that) there can be no normalisation of relations with India until they reverse” their actions viz Kashmir of August 5 2019.
Later, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a video message said that the Cabinet discussed the issue of import of cotton and sugar from India. (PTI)
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