Pakistan delays to grant India MFN status

January 6, 2013

India, which is looking for reciprocity from Pakistan in the form of Most Favoured Nation MFN status, will have to wait for some more time as the deadline of December 31, 2012 set by Pak to grant the status has elapsed. The two nations will also not be switching to negative list approach in bilateral trade right now.

India, which granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996, is trying for normalization of trade relations with its neighbor.

What problem Pakistan is facing in granting the MFN Status to India?

Pakistan, who took an ‘in principle’ decision to grant MFN status to India in 2011 and also envisaged to make it operational from 2013, , is facing opposition from some industrial groups and some extremist groups like the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Defa-e-Pakistan Council who are opposed normalization of trade ties.

What is MFN?