Pak industry for greater access

He said while road routes for trade was non-existent, rail and air connectivity between the two countries has been erratic. He hoped that direct air and rail links would soon be started.

He also blamed that due to non-tariff barriers and restrictions imposed by India, Pakistan is not able to export more to India. Bilour said that “our balance of trade has always been in favour of India. India still imports less from Pakistan than we do from India.

During 2000-01 Pakistan imported goods worth $186 million while the import figures for India were to the tune of $60 million only, he added.

Echoing the discontent, Ficci president A C Muthiah said trade infrastructure of both the counrties was highly inadequate. Railway connectivity for cargo movement was irregular and suffered from shortage of wagons and lack of coordination between the two railway authorities. “The shipping linkage is very expensive and uneconomical, specially for high bulk low value products,” he said.

Other members of the 115 strong delegation said movement of goods into India was restricted as most of the border routes were closed. They requested the governments on both sides of the border to consider opening up of other border routes other than the current Wagah-Attari route for easy passage of goods.

However, their Indian counterparts said that this would be possible only if there was an increase in trade volumes. The delegation also underlined the need for “genuine” confidence building measures to wash away “mistrust and misunderstanding” that they said existed.

Both Indian and Pakistani businessmen said for bilateral trade to flourish, element of trust between both countries was imperative.