Pakistan 'Defers’ Plans to Resume Trade with India

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s Cabinet postponed plans Thursday to resume trade links with archrival India, apparently after strong domestic backlash against such a move.

The government’s key decision-making Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) allowed Pakistani importers Wednesday to urgently procure cotton and sugar from Indian suppliers to help bridge domestic shortfalls and soaring prices. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Thursday the Cabinet meeting did not endorse the ECC decision, and it was “deferred because it required further deliberation.” Pakistan suspended trade ties with India in August 2019, when New Delhi revoked the semiautonomous status of Indian-administered Kashmir.