Ready to snap ties with Pak: Traders

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 28

An economic war, instead of one with weapons, would be a better answer to the nefarious designs of Pakistan, said members of the cross-border trading community in the wake of the Uri attack.

“We are ready to snap trade ties with Pakistan as national security and integrity are of prime importance to us,” they said. Traders say it is Pakistan which is dependent on India for import of goods like vegetables, spices and cotton yarn.

India’s move to review the MFN (most preferred nation) status granted to Pakistan would have little impact. Assocham (Punjab) Chairperson Suneet Kochhar said bilateral trade between the two nations was just $2.6 billion in 2015-16 (of which $2.2 billion were India’s exports to Pakistan). This represented a minuscule 0.4 per cent of India’s overall goods trade worth $643.3 billion in the same year.

President of Federation of Dry Fruit Traders Anil Mehra said traders would agree to forgo their interests as no one was ready to trade with a nation whose law and order were beyond its control. 

“India is the only country in the world where dry dates are consumed. Normally, 27-28 lakh sacks of dry dates are imported from Pakistan in a year. If we shut down this trade worth Rs 990 crore per year, Pakistan will bow down instantly,” he added.

“On the other hand, tomatoes, garlic and ginger — exported from here — are in high demand in Pakistan. If we stop it, it would be tough for them to get these items from anywhere else,” he said.

However, Gunbir Singh, former chairman, Punjab CII, said steps should be initiated to make relations between the two countries cordial.