The Indian side was led by Sunil Kant Munjal, the Chairman of Hero Corporate Services, who requested that India should be granted MFN status for trade normalisation. However, the Prime Minister did not say 'yes' or no' on this issue, sources maintained. The Prime Minister, however, asked Indian and Pakistani delegates if they had done homework on trade normalisation and advised them to complete it first.
Nawaz Sharif was of the view that he "is interested in trade with India", but Pakistan "has to see how it can be made possible". He also suggested that the word MFN should be substituted with another word as this "has become notorious". "The Prime Minister's response was cautious on the issue of granting MFN status. The Prime Minister was very positive, but cautious so that trade normalisation process would not hurt agriculture and industry," said one of the participants.
According to an analyst, the Indian government's priority "is to secure MNF status from Pakistan prior to general elections, so that they can use it as a success story in elections". The Indian delegation also emphasised on the opening of Wagha border in letter and spirit, enabling them to export goods without any restriction. "The India delegation also requested Pakistan to open Monabao and other land routes for promotion of trade," sources said.
Indian businessmen expressed their wish to use Gwadar port instead of Mumbai, saying that sending goods from Mumbai is expensive, the sources insisted. It is now up to the Pakistani government to capture this opportunity. India, sources said, was also interested in doing business with Pakistan, but they "are actually eyeing beyond Pakistan - Afghanistan and Central Asian states by using land routes", the sources maintained.
Both sides, they said, had set up Pakistan India Joint Business Forum (PIJBC) for developing a roadmap for increased co-operation and mutually beneficial contacts and partnership between the two countries. The forum, the sources said, would have co-chairpersons from both Indian and Pakistani side and shall consist of up to 15 members from each side. Associate members or special invitees could be included in the forum at the discretion of the co-chairs. Both sides have constituted committees on agriculture, auto and engineering goods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, petroleum products and energy.
Agriculture committee will be headed by Dr Tariq Bucha, textile by Bashir Ali Muhammad and auto sector by Sikandar Mustafa Khan. The committee will also hold meetings with the Commerce Ministry from time to time for finalising reports by August. According to sources, representatives of the private sector will also be inducted in the National Tariff Commission (NTC) to help the Commission resolve various issues. Dr Tariq Bucha, who represents the agriculture sector, is reported to have informed the Indian side that Pakistan's cost "is 40-50 per cent higher than India in addition to subsidy".
Indian delegates are reported to have proposed that Pakistan should prepare a strategy for protecting its agriculture sector, suggesting that Pakistan "can impose duty on Indian goods for three months under Safta regime which can be extended to six months". Referring to the visa regime, the Indian side assured that they were ready to facilitate Pakistani businessmen.
Indians, meanwhile, demanded of Pakistan to improve infrastructure at Wagha border. Pakistan has established a Land Port Authority (LPA) which will look after land routes. Different Pakistani sectors, which feel threatened, have also been asked to prepare their recommendations within two months. Both sides agreed that only four documents would be required for one-year multiple visas for businessmen. Hafiz Noor Muhamamd Kasuri, the Chairman of Pak-India Business Council, is trying to bring businessmen of both countries closer to each other.