'US continues to support direct dialogue between Indo-Pak'

Choosing not to comment over the Pakistan cabinet's decision not to import sugar and cotton from India, US dept spokesperson Ned Price stated that the United States always encourages and continues to support direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on issues of concern.

New Delhi:The United States said that it continues to support direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on issues of concern.

However, the US state department abstained from commenting on the decision of the Pakistani cabinet not to import sugar and cotton from India.

In response to a media query as to what the US State department thinks about the Pakistani cabinet’s decision to not resume trade ties with India or import sugar and cotton from India, US dept spokesperson Ned Price said, “I wouldn’t want to comment on that specifically. What I would say is that we continue to support direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on issues of concern”.

On April 1, Pakistan’s Federal cabinet rejected the Economic Co-ordination Committee’s proposal to import cotton and sugar from India.

The decision was taken immediately after the day when in a sudden move, Pakistan’s government approved the resumption of trade ties with India.

Then major flip flop by Pakistan to hold the import of cotton and sugar from India gave a dramatic twist to the Indo-Pak relations that have been the talk of the town ever since both sides agreed to a ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) following months of tension. Also, Pakistan’s Army Chief General Bajwa addressed a conference in Islamabad and said that India and Pakistan need to bury the past for the sake of peace in the region.

However, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said that there can be no 'normalization' between India and Pakistan until India reverses its decision to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan had snapped ties with India ever since the nullification of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the division of the erstwhile state into two new Union Territories in August 2019.

Last week, India refused to comment on Pakistan’s U-turn on the resumption of trade between the two countries following Islamabad’s flip-flopping on the import of cotton and sugar from India.

On being asked about Pakistan's change of mind in the resumption of trade with India, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said, "We are not the right party to whom this question should be directed."

Notably, India has had a surplus trade with Pakistan but with significantly lesser imports and exports.