ISLAMABAD, 20 February 2004 — Pakistan may grant the status of most favored nation (MFN) to India to coincide with the implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement in the region, sources said yesterday.
“The government has indicated that it will grant MFN status to India,” an official of the Pakistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (PFCCI) said.
Requesting anonymity, the official said after getting a positive nod from the government, the PFCCI had been in touch with its Indian counterparts.
He said a 20-member business delegation from Pakistan would visit New Delhi and Bombay for indepth discussions regarding the implementation of SAFTA and how to make optimum use of MFN status if it is granted.
Siraj Kassem Teli, president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce, will lead the Pakistan delegation, which will include prominent business personalities.
Strong lobbies in both the bureaucracy and the business community have been opposing granting of MFN status to India saying this might adversely affect Pakistan’s manufacturing sector.
I Refused to Sell Pakistan’s Nuclear Technology: Benazir
Benazir Bhutto said yesterday that she was approached several times when she was Pakistani prime minister by military officials and scientists seeking permission to export nuclear technology, but turned down their requests.
In an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Benazir, who served two terms from 1988-90 and 1993-1996, said she and senior military officers had agreed on a bar on the export of nuclear technology in December 1988.
This, however, did not prevent senior military officials and scientists persisting with the idea and later in her first term broaching the subject of raising money by selling nuclear knowhow, she said.
“It certainly was their belief that they could earn tons of money if they did this,” she said.
