Gilani Warns Non-state Actors Can Harm Pakistan-India Ties

Islamabad, May 8, IRNA -- Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Monday called for promotion of Pakistan-India trade relations and warned that non-state actors are determined to harm the bilateral peace process. Addressing a conference of Pakistani and Indian business tycoons in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, the Prime Minister said the two sides must remain vigilant to thwart elements that could endanger the peace process which resumed last year. “I must caution that recent successes do not mean that we should become complacent. We face many challenges and threats from forces inimical to peace,” he said. A thirty-member delegation comprising Indian business leaders is attending the India-Pakistan Joint Business Council and will explore ways to promote trade relations. The conference is a joint initiative of Pakistan’s leading Jang Group of publications and the Times of India newspaper. Gilani told the opening session that improved relations with India “are important for us as it offers a billion-plus market to the Pakistani exporters”. “We face many challenges and threats from forces inimical to peace. We are passing through turbulent times in our history in which non-state actors are determined to harm the peace process. Such forces are present on both sides of the border and we have to remain vigilant that they are not able to derail our hard earned gains,” Gilani said. Trade relations between the two countries witnessed a boost last year when Pakistan decided to grant the long-awaited status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) to India As a follow up, earlier this year, Pakistan switched from a positive list regime to a negative list regime for trade. Pakistan officials insist India must remove “non-tariff barriers”, that will pave the way for finalization of the MFN status. Following the decision to normalise trade relations, the two sides agreed to boost the volume of trade from the current level of about two billion dollars a year to six billion dollars by 2014. “It was in April 2011 when the two countries announced their intention to normalise bilateral trade relations. And by April 2012, we have made huge strides in this direction,” Gilani said. The Prime Minister said Pakistan decided to scrap the positive list regime for imports from India and replace it with a negative list and the Wagah-Attari Trade Gate, which opened recently, will go a long way in boosting the volume of trade. Gilani pointed out that Pakistan and India are passing through turbulent times in their history in which non-state actors are determined to harm the peace process. “Such forces are present on both sides of the border and we have to remain vigilant that they are not able to derail our hard earned gains,” he said. Gilani said poverty, disease and ignorance should not be the “fate of the peoples of the two countries anymore”. The region, where more than one-fifth of the world population resides, is fast becoming a key driver of the global economy, he said./end