'India's non-tariff barriers are not Pakistan-specific'

KARACHI: India's non-tariff barriers are uniform for all countries and are not "Pakistan-specific", Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal said today.

"We have a uniform policy which relates to the quality of goods, their packaging etc," he said while addressing the Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Negotiations were underway between the two countries at several levels and India wants to boost trade with all countries, particularly its neighbours, he said.

The Commerce Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet again in mid-November to sort out trade barriers and other issues, Sabharwal said.

Several issues have been sorted out so far by the two sides and they have agreed to liberalise bilateral trade and to raise the volume from the current level of about two billion dollars to at least six billion dollars a year, he said.

Talks were underway between the Interior Ministries of both countries to facilitate the issuance of visas to businessmen as the private sector currently faces problems in this area, he said.

"There is interest on both sides of the border to boost trade ties as its true potential has not yet been realised," Sabharwal said.

Responding to queries from businessmen, he said proposals were being considered to provide land route access to Pakistan for transporting cargo across the Wagah and Khokrapar-Munabao land border crossings.

Sabharwal said as far as water disputes were concerned, the Indus Waters Treaty provides a mechanism to resolve such matters.