Pakistan refuses to grant NDMA status for India unless concerns addressed

Pakistan has said it would not grant Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) to India until New Delhi addressed Islamabad's core concerns relating to non-tariff barriers hampering exports of Pakistani goods.

Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, made the comments while responding to a media question whether by the end of February Pakistan would grant NDMA status to India.

According to the Express Tribune, Aziz was speaking after attending a seminar on 'Economic Policies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia'.

The conference was jointly arranged by Germany's Friedrich Ebert Stiftung institute and Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

There were expectations that New Delhi would soon announce some concessions and relax restrictions on movement of goods.

In response, Pakistan would approve NDMA status for New Delhi within a week.