Pak, India trade linked to progress on Kashmir: PM
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that free trade and investment with India would be possible only when there is some solid progress on the issue of Kashmir. “With India we have not allowed free trade, free investment. Trade is taking place but it is under a restrictive list”, the Prime Minister told BBC Television in an interview telecast Tuesday.
“We believe that our relationship should grow in-tandem with the various issues on the table”, the PM said adding trade and investment will be freed when there is progress in-line with progress and in-tandem with progress on Kashmir. To a question Shaukat Aziz said that people in Pakistan feel that tomorrow will be better than today.
The psyche of consumer spending and consumer confidence is when people feel that they can borrow today and pay back when they have better tomorrow, he said.
This is universally true in any country of the world whether developed or developing, he added. He said with the high growth rate, the middle class is naturally growing in the country and it is a source of satisfaction and pleasure for the government. The Prime Minister said that there are some signs of inflation in the country vis-a-vis boost in economic activity to which the government is watching very carefully.
“We have taken measures , we want to contain inflation. It is still in the single digit but we have to watch it very carefully”, he said. He said the rapid growing trends in oil prices have put pressure on the overall prices structure throughout the world. To another question he said, President General Pervez Musharraf is a source of great confidence for all Pakistanis because he has done so much.
The President as well as the government are making efforts to institutionalize the reforms the Prime Minister said adding “we are very convinced that the institutionalization process is moving ahead”. Asked which are the Asian countrieswith which Pakistan desires to forge trading alliances the PM said, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong are the countries who are looking on Pakistan.
They are not just looking but are coming and exploring the opportunities, he added. “Our job is to open the door of opportunity and it is up to the businessmen world across to realize it”, the Prime Minister said.Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said free investment and free trade with India can not be allowed unless headway is made towards resolution of Kashmir dispute. He said this while talking to BBC here Tuesday. He indicated that free investment and free trade was not allowed with India, however, trade is going on with India at limited scale.
Pakistan wants trade relations with India to move forward in tandem with other relations, he remarked. Free investment and trade can be allowed with India if a movement forward takes place on Kashmir issue. Prime Minister underscored President General Pervez Musharraf is a major source of optimism and confidence for the whole nation as he did best for the country.
Responding to a question he said it was acute desire of President Musharraf and his government that the reforms are institutionalized so that they could not suffer due to lack of presence of some one. Institutions are gaining strength to achieve this objective, he added. Replying to a question he told Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea , Japan and China were keen to establish trade links with Pakistan. Several companies from these countries are coming to Pakistan to capitalize on the opportunities of investment. Our government has opened the doors to these companies for investment in Pakistan and they can make best use of these occasions.