India has asked Pakistan to specify by when it will dismantle the remaining import ban on products such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and chemicals.

The next round of bilateral trade talks will take place only when a commitment is in place.

This puts a question mark on Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma’s scheduled visit to Pakistan next week to inaugurate the India Show in Lahore.

In a letter to the Pakistani Commerce Ministry sent last week, India has also said that Pakistan should commit to a date by which it would allow all traded goods to be exported through the Attari-Wagah land route, which is the most economic route for doing business.

“They (Pakistan) have not responded to our letter yet. We are sure they are working on it. If we do not get a satisfactory response soon, the Minister will not go to Lahore next week,” a Commerce Ministry official told Business Line .

Since the trade liberalisation process began between the two countries two years back, Pakistan has removed ban on more than 4,000 Indian products. Ban on around 1,000 Indian items, however, continues to be in-place, despite Pakistan’s promise to do away with it last year.

Once Pakistan allows import of all items, India would get the elusive Most Favoured Nation status which has now been re-worded ‘non-discriminatory market access’ because of its greater political acceptance in the neighbouring country.

India-Pakistan trade, at present, stands at about $3 billion and could touch $10 billion after restrictions are removed, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry estimates. Bilateral trade is hugely tilted in India’s favour. “What we are seeking is part of the agreed plan of action. We have increased the number of items from Pakistan that are allowed entry at low import duties into India under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement by shrinking our sensitive list by 30 per cent. It is now Pakistan’s turn to deliver on the two areas,” the official said.

Market access India and Pakistan’s ultimate goal is to allow preferential market access (lower import duties) to all but 100 items from both countries.

Pakistani Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan met his Indian counterpart Sharma in New Delhi last month putting back the trade dialogue on track after talks were suspended following violence at the Line of Control (LoC) in January 2012.

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