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External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said securing 'most-favoured nation' (MFN) trade status from Pakistan wasn't a priority, unless ceasefire violations across the Line of Control (LoC) were stopped. He added India was in a state of "shock and anger" over the killing of Indian soldiers at the border with Pakistan.
"I am not saying MFN or trade has taken a backseat. There are other priorities today. Let us address those. There has to be peace and tranquility at the Line of Control. Reports emanating from the border every day are extremely distressing. It's no time for me to sound insensitive and start talking on issues other than the priorities that there must be safety and security for our citizens, that the ceasefire should not be violated and that we should have the satisfaction in which we can consider different dimensions of the dialogue process (with Pakistan)," Khurshid told Business Standard on the sidelines of a CUTS event here.
The minister's words come a day after Pakistan finance minister Ishaq Dar said there were no immediate plans to grant MFN status to India. Recently, the process of normalising trade relations between the two neighbours came to a complete halt, after India accused the Pakistani army of killing five Indian soldiers near the LoC last week. This was followed by a number of ceasefire violations.
Khurshid said last year, the Pakistan government had taken a decision on granting MFN status to India, but the new government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hadn't taken a decision on the matter yet. India had granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996.
"This is not something that has one-way benefit to India. This will benefit their businessmen as well. So, they must convince their own businessmen that it's good for them. Right now, as you can see, there are more important things to attend to than MFN. There is a sense of disappointment and anger. The air needs to be cleared before we can start talking on other issues. There are many things that are half done, which are in the pipeline. Today is not the day. I think we first need to get back to normal. There are steps needed to be taken on Pakistan's side, before we can start addressing these issues," Khurshid said.
On the proposed talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sharif on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting in New York next month, Khurshid said he had no idea whether the meeting would take place or not.
"I am not going to talk about it today. As I said, the priority is first ceasefire violations must stop. It is important we get peace and tranquility on the border. This is the highest priority. We have lost men on the border. We are still in a state of shock and in a state of grieving. We have no time to talk about what might happen in the future. When the time comes, I am sure that will be addressed. We are doing all we deem fit at the diplomatic level."
Congress leader Abhishek M Singhvi, who was present at the CUTS event, said India should stop lamenting on the fact that Pakistan hadn't granted India MFN status yet. Instead, it should make it imperative for Pakistan to grant the status by strengthening business ties with other Asian countries, he added.
Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs, said it was natural for bilateral ties to be affected after the LoC incident.
