India Pakistan news - Pakistan lifts two-year ban on cotton, sugar Import from India

India Pakistan news getting Limelight this week is Pakistan lifting a two-year ban on the import of sugar and cotton from India on Wednesday, in a major move aimed at reviving trade ties with New Delhi amid easing tensions. India is the world's largest cotton producer and the second-largest sugar producer.

Pakistan's Finance Minister Hammad Azhar told that the decision to partially resume trade ties by allowing the importation of cotton and 0.5 tonnes of sugar from India was made at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Council, Pakistan's leading business decision-making body.

However, Adding on to this India Pakistan news, Azhar said that the motivation behind this move is Pakistan's personal interests, specifically to lower the country's high sugar prices.

"We allow the importation of sugar, but in the rest of the world also sugar prices are high, which makes imports not possible," he told reporters. "But in our neighboring country India, sugar prices are much lower compared to Pakistan, so we decided to reopen sugar trade with India up to 0.5 million tonnes for the private sector."

New Delhi has yet to comment on the decision.

Pakistan was one of the main buyers of Indian cotton until 2019 when Islamabad banned the import of Indian products after New Delhi revoked the special status and jurisdiction of Jammu and Kashmir. This India Pakistan news was into the headlines of many national/international newspapers.

While India did not ban trade with Pakistan, it suspended trade through the Line of Control and withdrew the most-favored-nation status granted to Pakistan after the decline in relations between neighboring countries in the wake of constitutional changes in Kashmir.

After listening to this India Pakistan news, the People's Democratic Party welcomes Pakistan's decision to lift the ban

The Peoples' Democratic Party of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday welcomed the resumption of trade ties between India and Pakistan, saying that expanding participation is critical to restoring lasting peace to the Indian subcontinent.

The party also urged the two countries to implement measures to resume trade through the lines of control in Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible.

Relations between India and Pakistan

Wednesday's intervention came amid a gradual thaw in relations between the two neighbors.

The military of both countries issued a rare joint statement last month, declaring a ceasefire along the Line of Control. The declaration reaffirms the commitment of the two countries made during the 2003 ceasefire agreement.

India Pakistan news about peace agreements always gathers the attention of fellow countrymen. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi also exchanged peace initiatives, saying they wanted peaceful relations between them. Modi wrote to Khan on the occasion of Pakistan's National Day on March 23, saying that India wishes "friendly relations with the people of Pakistan." In his response on March 29, Khan responded in kind to the Indian prime minister.

Last week, a Pakistani delegation came to India to attend the Indus Commission. This was the first dialogue of its kind in more than two and a half years. During the celebration of Pakistan Day in Delhi on March 23, Aftab Hassan Khan, Charge D'Affaires of the High Commission of Pakistan, said that the two countries should solve all bilateral problems, especially the Jammu and Kashmir issue through the dialogue.

Earlier this week, Pakistan's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa also said it was time to "bury the past and move on."

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