While Delhi pressed Islamabad to reciprocate steps to boost commerce, Yousaf Raza Gilani-led government is likely to decide on 'negative list' trade approach with India in a fortnight, sources said.
The Pakistan government is likely to take a crucial decision on the 'negative list' trade approach with India in a fortnight, even as the two countries on Wednesday signed three important pacts to improve economic ties.
The two governments signed agreements on cooperation in customs, mutual recognition of standards and for redressing trade grievances in the presence of Indian Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma and Pakistani Commerce and Trade Minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem.
While New Delhi pressed Islamabad to reciprocate steps to boost commerce, Yousaf Raza Gilani-led government is likely to decide on 'negative list' trade approach with India in a fortnight, sources said.
Concerns raised by some stakeholders regarding the negative list regime would be taken up by the Commerce Ministry and the proposal would be submitted again at the next Cabinet meeting, they said.
However, Faheem said, "We don't want to rush...One or two of my colleagues wanted to have more information (on the negative list)...We should address every single item (for the negative list) and issues that have to come in between."
Sharma said New Delhi has already taken steps to improve commerce with Islamabad and it should now match these measures to improve trade ties.
"We have taken the steps we had said we would take. We hope that Pakistan will now take steps so that we can take the relationship forward," he said.
As per a mutual understanding in November last year, Pakistan was to allow in February 2012, import of all Indian goods, excepting a few items in the 'Negative List' giving boost to a paltry bilateral trade of USD 2.7 billion.
At present, Pakistan follows a 'positive list' regime and permits import of only about 1,900 items from India, which gives almost full access to Pakistani goods.
At a meeting chaired yesterday by Gilani, the Cabinet deferred a decision on switching over to the negative list for trade with India after many stakeholders, including interior and textiles ministries, expressed reservations over the move.
Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said the Cabinet had directed the Commerce Ministry to consult all stakeholders before preparing the final negative list. Awan quoted Gilani as saying that enough homework had not been done on the issue.
Pakistani Commerce Ministry had reportedly prepared a negative list with 636 items proposed by industries which wanted full protection against imports from India. Sources told PTI that some ministers complained that they received the Commerce Ministry's list only on Monday.
The Dawn newspaper quoted a source privy to the Cabinet meeting as saying that Gilani did not allow Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood to address concerns raised by various ministries.
Gilani instead asked the secretary to meet stakeholders and remove their concerns before making a final decision, the report said. Another source told the daily that Gilani may have delayed a decision because of the sensitivity of the issue and political uncertainty linked to his indictment by the Supreme Court in a contempt case.
However, Fahim said the decision was not delayed because of any internal issue.
"No, no political problem...but we were in hurry to go to Parliament and they were short of time," he said.
The Cabinet's decision came in wake of stiff opposition to measures to liberlise trade with India from powerful lobbies like the textiles, pharmaceuticals and automobile industries.
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