India to lift trade barriers after getting MFN status: Senator Haji Gul Ali

Islamabad: India will lift non-tariff trade barriers on Pakistani exports once Islamabad grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to New Delhi, a Senator said Friday.

MFN is not a concession to India but part of an agreement signed between two countries, said Senator Haji Ghulam Ali, Chairman, Senate Standing Committee for Commerce. Talking to a delegation of female entrepreneurs led by Samina Fazil, founder President, Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) and President IWCCI Farida Rashid, he said that MFN will start a new era of countless possibilities and opportunities. He said that we have almost finalised Trade Organisations Act 2012 which will be put to a joint standing committee of Senate and National Assembly on Jan 23 and it would be passed within current month or during early February.

Ghulam Ali who has recently served as President FPCCI said that after promulgation of act it will be obligatory on FPCCI to have a women vice president on rotation basis.
Moreover, the businessmen and business chambers of FATA will also get representation in the Apex trade body, he added.
The Senator said that the new act will facilitate business community while formation of a business chamber will become extremely easy.He called upon the IWCCI to promote rural women who are facing exploitation by the middlemen.At the occasion, Samina Fazil and Farida Rashid demanded of the government to grant MFN status to India as soon as possible.

They said that businesswomen faces popular opposition from certain sectors of society but gender equality is likely to increase despite setbacks.Government should put female empowerment at the heart of their agenda, demanded Fazil.