ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani foreign office on Tuesday confirmed that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan had replied to a letter written by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Pakistan’s Republic Day on March 23.
Khan’s letter, dated March 29, thanked Modi for his note and said the people of Pakistan wanted peaceful and cooperative relations with all neighbors, including India.
“Durable peace and security in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” Khan’s letter said.
Arab News reached out to the foreign office spokesperson to confirm if the letter, first shared on social media, was official.
“Yes it is,” he replied in a text message.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars and had tense ties since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Relations worsened in 2019 and both sent combat planes into each other’s territory.
In a sign of rapprochement, India and Pakistan this month held the first meeting in three years of a commission on water rights from the Indus River.
Last month, India and Pakistan announced a rare agreement to stop firing on the bitterly-contested Kashmir border.
Pakistani foreign office confirms PM Khan letter to Indian counterpart Modi
https://arab.news/myws7
Pakistani foreign office confirms PM Khan letter to Indian counterpart Modi
- Khan was replying to a letter by Modi on the occasion of Pakistan’s Republic Day on March 23
- The Indian PM had called for peaceful relations between the two nuclear-armed rivals
Pakistan steps up EU trade engagement as India deal raises export fears
- Deputy PM chairs inter-ministerial meeting, calls GSP+ “crucial” for growth
- Move follows India–EU trade pact that industry warns could hit exports, jobs
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Friday chaired a high-level inter-ministerial meeting to review and strengthen trade and economic relations with the European Union, as Islamabad scrambles to safeguard market access following India’s new trade deal with the bloc.
The meeting is part of a broader diplomatic and policy push this week after India and the EU confirmed a free trade agreement granting Indian exporters sweeping tariff-free access to Europe — a development Pakistani exporters and analysts warn could erode Pakistan’s competitiveness, particularly in textiles, its largest export sector.
The EU is Pakistan’s second-largest export market, accounting for about $9 billion in annual shipments, mostly textiles and apparel. Industry leaders have warned that India’s tariff-free access could undercut Pakistan’s long-standing advantage under the EU’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which allows duty-free access in return for commitments on labor rights, human rights and governance.
At Friday’s meeting, Dar emphasized the centrality of GSP+ to Pakistan’s trade strategy with Europe.
“He emphasized that GSP Plus remains a crucial framework for mutually beneficial trade and underlined the need to maximize its potential for Pakistan’s economic growth,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
Dar also stressed the importance of enhancing trade cooperation with the EU and exploring new avenues for economic engagement, as Pakistan assesses how to respond to shifting trade dynamics in Europe.
The inter-ministerial huddle follows a series of rapid consultations this week, including a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the EU’s ambassador to Pakistan, as well as briefings by trade bodies to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on the potential impact of the India–EU agreement.
Exporters have warned that unless Pakistan lowers production costs, particularly energy tariffs, and secures continued preferential access, the country could face declining market share in Europe and job losses across its labor-intensive textile sector.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said Islamabad is aware of the India–EU agreement and continues to view its trade relationship with the EU as mutually beneficial, but officials acknowledge that the new deal has intensified pressure to defend Pakistan’s position within the bloc.
