No Official Statement Has Been Made On MFN Status, Pakistan Senior Official

Mumbai: In a wake of the Pulwama attack, India withdrew the status of the Most Favored Nation (MFN) and took an extreme step against Pakistan. Meanwhile, senior officials of Pakistan claimed Sunday that there was no official word about the move till now, “We are considering India’s withdrawal of MFN status.” We can talk to India on this issue, “Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Commerce, told Geo News.

He further said that Pakistan can raise this issue at various forums including the World Trade Organization (WETO) as both countries are members of the global business body.

Earlier on Friday, one day after the Pulwama attack, in which the lives of 40 CRPF men were lost, the Narendra Modi-led central government had announced the withdrawal of MFN status for Pakistan.

India had given MFN status to Pakistan in 1996, but later it was not withdrawn while citing major trade imbalances between the two countries. Under the MFN treaty, a WTO member country is bound to deal with other business nations in a non-discriminatory manner, especially with regard to customs and other fees.

A day after the attack, the government increased the customs duty on goods coming from Pakistan with immediate effect by 200 per cent. After the Pulwama incident, India has withdrawn the MFN status to Pakistan. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a tweet on Saturday, “Original customs duty has been to 200 per cent with immediate effect on all the items exported from India to Pakistan.”

https://twitter.com/arunjaitley/status/1096782573387374592