The Indian government has strengthened its retaliatory measures against Pakistan in the context of the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir on 22nd April. In the latest move, the government has banned all imports from Pakistan, both directly and through a third country. The advisory also bans the entry of Pakistan-registered ships on Indian ports, and has i effect restricted the entry of Indian ships to Pakistan.
After the limitations on visas imposed by the government, this is the second most important non-military measure against the Islamic State. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade on 2nd May issued new guidelines under the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, which restrict imports from Pakistan. The notice issued by the Directorate General also clarifies that this is done to protect India’s “national security and public policy.”
In case of any exemption from this notification, the approval of the Indian government will be necessary. As per the analysis of GTRI, a think tank based in India, the policy will not affect India, but Pakistan needs Indian products, and it might be possible that the country keeps accessing them through indirect routes via third countries, which may or may not be recorded.
It further explains that the negligible imports from Pakistan to India will drop to zero, and there is nothing India will miss, perhaps barring the “sendha namak”. The most important aspect of the trade block, as per analysts, is the inaccessibility of indirect routes. This will stop the $500 million worth of products entering India through Indirect routes from Pakistan, including dry fruits and chemicals. Even before 2019, it had been pointed out that good entering India were rerouted from Pakistan.
Products including dates, dry fruits, leather, textiles, and chemicals were routed through the UAE and Singapore. Considering the entry of goods worth $500 through the indirect route, the ban is important. But it will only be beneficial if the monitoring of the goods entering the borders is strong and the rules regarding country of origin are fair. Hence, this ban would stop the circumvention of Pakistani commodities into India, impacting the country’s already broken economy.
