In response to US President Donald Trump’s announcement to boost trade with Pakistan, Islamabad has proposed a zero-tariff bilateral trade agreement with the Washington, revealed government sources.
“Pakistan is offering to enter into a bilateral agreement with zero tariffs on selected tariff lines, with mutual interests, to expand bilateral trade across multiple sectors,” said a high-level source when asked about the new policy offered to the US.
The development comes after US President Trump brokered a ceasefire between Pakistan and India. In a follow-on post after the ceasefire, Trump lauded the leadership of both countries and said he would be doing ‘a lot of trade’ with both.
The nuclear-armed rivals ended their worst military conflict in nearly three decades with a ceasefire announcement on Saturday. The conflict sparked global concerns that it could spiral into a full-blown war.
The fighting began last Wednesday when India launched strikes against what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan. The Indian strike came after an April 22 attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people.
Pakistan said it had nothing to do with the attack on the tourists, adding that India’s strike was aimed at civilian targets.
Pakistan armed forces launched a large-scale retaliatory military action, named “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos” and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions.
The strikes, described by officials as “precise and proportionate”, were carried out in response to India’s continued aggression across the Line of Control (Loc) and within Pakistan’s territory, which New Delhi claimed were aimed at “terrorist targets”.
