MFN status for India by October: Pakistan

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Pakistan could grant the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India by October next year, a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said here.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said: "October next year is the timeframe which has been given" for granting MFN status to India. He was responding to a question during on Thursday's weekly news briefing on the latest status of the Pakistan government's move to grant MFN status to India.

Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan had recently announced during a news conference that the cabinet had conferred the status to India but the government subsequently clarified that the process was yet to be completed. Basit said the Commerce Ministry is working on the issue and a decision will be made ‘in sync with our interest and WTO rules’.

"The decision in principle was taken by the cabinet. Details as to how MFN status will be granted, the nitty-gritty are being worked out," he said.

Following talks between their Commerce Ministers, India and Pakistan recently unveiled a slew of measures to normalise trade relations and to boost trade from $2 billion to $6 billion in three years.