Pakistan to Resume Trade With India to Save Economy Amid Damage Caused by Floods

Islamabad halted trade ties with India in August 2019 in response to the "unilateral" changes in the status of Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian parliament.

Pakistan has announced the decision to resume trade with India after devastating floods inflicted massive damage to the country's economy, including the destruction of thousands of hectares of cultivated land.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the government could consider importing vegetables and other edible items from India to help people in the wake of the destruction of crops.

"We will open trade route with India because of this flood and food price hike," Ismail said in response to a question during a press briefing in Islamabad.

The minister said that his government put its politics at stake to save the state by taking tough decisions to "protect the country from bankruptcy."

The government data suggests that the weekly inflation rate reached a record level of 44.58 percent last Friday due to an increase in the prices of petroleum products and disruption in the supply of commodities due to floods.

Pakistan unilaterally suspended trade ties with India in response to New Delhi's decision to revoke the administrative powers of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region in August 2019.

Islamabad accused the Narendra Modi government of violating the Indian Constitution, the United Nations Security Council resolutions on Kashmir, and the Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan.

In June this year, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari suggested a deeper economic engagement with India to benefit the cash-strapped economy.