In what comes as the first step towards the revival of trade relations between Pakistan and India, authorities in Pakistan on Tuesday allowed the import of white sugar and cotton from India. The move is being seen as part of slow but crucial steps the two countries are taking for easing tensions. 

According to a report in Dawn, the decision was taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee chaired by Pakistan’s newly appointed Finance Minister Hammad Azhar. 

According to directives, the government permitted private players to import half a million tonnes of white sugar from India. The proposal for the import of cotton from India was cleared in the meeting. 

“The prices of sugar (in India) are much less as compared to Pakistan so we have decided to reopen sugar trade with India for up to 0.5 million tonnes for the private sector,” Azhar was quoted as saying by Dawn.

The demand for cotton has increased in the country’s textile industry, and the domestic crop was not well last year, he said. “The difference (in prices) affects the SMEs (small and medium enterprises. Big industry can buy it from Egypt or other countries,” he said. 

Earlier, Pakistan had suspended all trade relations with India in August 2019 when the latter bifurcated the state of Jammu and Kashmir and ended the special status it enjoyed under the Indian constitution. 

However, in May 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan exempted the import of medicine and raw materials from India to ensure there was no shortfall of essential medicines in the country. 

The resumption of trade ties was expected for some weeks now as the two nations had already given enough hints to work for achieving basic normalcy in the bilateral ties. Interestingly, the move came just a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan responded to a letter written by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Pakistan's National Day.