Revoke Pakistan's MNF status: Congress

The Congress on Tuesday demanded that the Most Favoured Nation (MNF) status given to Pakistan must be revoked following the Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it is a 'dead letter'.

"The most favoured nation status needs to go primarily because it is a dead letter. Pakistan never reciprocated the Most Favoured Nation status. Pakistan was never comfortable with the terminology 'the Most Favoured Nation'," Congress leader Manish Tewari said here.

"In any case, most of the trade with Pakistan is through third country. There is hardly any bilateral trade between India and Pakistan," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convened a meeting on Thursday to review the MFN status to the neighbour, sources said here.

India granted the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996 but the neighbouring country has so far not reciprocated.

According to obligations under the World Trade Organisation, member-countries shall extend the MFN status to each other automatically unless otherwise specified in the agreement or the schedule notified to the WTO by the member-country.

--IANS

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