Editor's Pick: A thaw in India-Pakistan trade

(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)

Pakistan has decided to reinstate sugar and cotton imports from India. This decision was taken by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan to stabilise the prices and meet the demands of the local industry, according to the Pakistan Finance Minister.

Trade between India and Pakistan has been in the doldrums ever since the Pulwama attack in February 2019. In response, India cancelled the Most Favoured Nation status for Pakistan, and hiked customs duty on imports by 200 per cent. Later that year, Pakistan suspended all bilateral trade with India after the removal of special status for Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370. Trade between the two countries, which had peaked at $2.3 billion dollars in 2016-17 and was skewed heavily in India's favour, plummeted after that.

The warming up of the trade now comes after another surprise decision to cease hostilities at the line of control, a move which, according to reports, was brokered by UAE. India's current engagement with Pakistan also follows the escalation of tensions at the border with China over the past year, which shifted the focus from the LoC to the LAC. Army chief Bipin Rawat even spoke of the two-front challenge that India faced from China and Pakistan.

While India has not commented yet on Pakistan's announcement on trade, it is a move from which India stands to benefit. It also fits into the larger engagement that reduces India's security concerns. This is what makes this story important.

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