Sharma defers Pakistan visit

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has deferred its visit to Pakistan which was scheduled for later this week.
"The minister has deferred his visit to Pakistan," Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher told reporters here.
When asked whether the ministry has finalised the new dates for Sharma's visit, Kher said: "We will decide that may be after the parliament session".
The minister was scheduled to visit Pakistan to inaugurate the 'India Show' in Lahore on February 14. He was also supposed to have bilateral meetings with his Pakistani counterpart Khurram Dastagir Khan the next day in Islamabad.
According to an official, Pakistan has not yet responded to the letter sent by the commerce ministry in which India has demanded expeditious implementation of issues agreed upon by the two countries.

The three main agreed proposals are allowing trade of all goods through Wagah-Attari border, dismantling of the negative list of 1,209 items and bringing down the sensitive list of items to 100 under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) over a period of five years.

At present, only 137 items can be traded through Attari- Wagah land border. Pakistan had already missed the deadline to eliminate the negative list. Dismantling of the list would automatically lead to grant of Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) to India, though India for long has insisted on Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.
Under SAFTA, India has also agreed to reduce its sensitive list of items to 100 from 614 in one year.

However, the three-day 'India Show', which is being planned by industry body Ficci, will be held as planned.
The bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 2.6 billion in 2012-13.
India's main exports to Pakistan include sugar, man-made filaments and chemicals, while its imports comprise mineral and fuels, among others.