Pakistan denies opening Afghan trade route for India

Pakistan has denied reports that it is considering allowing the movement of goods between India and Afghanistan through its territory, rejecting claims that Islamabad had shown any willingness to reopen the trade route.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan had not agreed to consider allowing India-Afghanistan trade through its land route. The Foreign Office quoted him as making the clarification on Sunday.

The denial followed remarks by US Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass, who had said Pakistan was considering the possibility of resuming India-Afghanistan trade through its territory.

According to The Express Tribune, Bass said in an interview with an Indian newspaper last week that Pakistan had approached Afghanistan earlier this year and indicated that it was willing to facilitate trade between Afghanistan and India through its territory.

The report described the claim as significant because Pakistan has traditionally restricted the movement of Indian goods through its territory to Afghanistan.

The issue is important for Afghanistan, which is landlocked and depends heavily on transit routes through neighbouring countries for access to international markets. India has also been seeking alternative trade corridors to maintain commercial links with Afghanistan, including routes through Iran.

Pakistan's latest statement indicates that there has been no policy decision, at least publicly, to change its position on allowing Indian goods to transit through Pakistani territory. Any such move would have wider implications for regional trade and the strained relations between India and Pakistan.