Pakistan-India trade ties: is there still room for revival after years of suspension?

Pakistan’s Mohammad Ishaq Dar made the remarks at a London press conference last week following his participation in the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels. His statement marked the first indication of a potential shift in diplomacy towards New Delhi since the newly formed PML-N government assumed power in Islamabad, sidelining popular country leader Imran Khan.

Ajay Bisaria, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and author of the renowned book Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan, told This Week in Asia that the notion of reviving trade was not novel, driven by Pakistan’s dire economic conditions and a shift towards geoeconomics, prioritising economic strength over military power.

The former diplomat stressed: “Pakistan’s economy and, particularly, its textile and pharmaceutical sectors, stand to gain from trade with India given their dependence on raw materials from India.”

He said internal consultation on the issue was required from Pakistan, coupled with some quiet diplomacy with India so that the proposal would be on the table when a new government took office in Delhi in June.

On Thursday, however, Pakistan’s foreign office spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch denied the possibility of resuming trade with India. “Pakistan-India trade relations have been non-existent since 2019 … There is no change in Pakistan’s position on it,” Baloch said.

Some geopolitical analysts in Pakistan have also criticised Dar’s comments.

“Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke about trade with India – continuing a habit among Pakistani elites of seeking a hand of friendship that simply does not exist. This is a matter of concern – but hardly new,” said Mosharraf Zaidi, columnist and public policy expert.

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