Pak suspends trade with India; effect on India to be minimal

Pakistan on Thursday said it was suspending all trade with India, including through third countries, a move officials and industry analysts said was unlikely to have a material impact on this side of the border given the minimal inflows and the existence of unofficial lines via third countries that are hard to crack down on.

- Rajeev Jayaswal

NEW DELHI:

Most of the steps unveiled by Pakistan after a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad were tit-for-tat responses to measures announced by India on Wednesday. "Islamabad's move to suspend trade with India will hit the inflation-ravaged Pakistan citizens only because India imports nothing from Pakistan. Our import from Pakistan is absolutely zero, whereas Pakistan imported Indian merchandise of about $500 million for the first nine months of the last financial year," a government official said requesting anonymity.