Islamabad: Marking a departure from its stand of linking improvement in trade relations with India to the resolution of Kashmir issue, Pakistan has said it could grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India if New Delhi ensured a level playing field by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers on Pakistan's finished goods.

Pakistan's Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan, who till recently insisted that Pakistan would consider progress in trade relations if there was progress in dialogue process to resolve Kashmir issue, in an interview to local daily 'The Nation' today (Nov 30, 2004) linked the granting of MFN status to India taking steps to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers imposed on Pakistan's exports.

Answering a question that if India removed its tariff and non-tariff barriers will Pakistan grant it MFN status, he said, "Yes. My position is very clear and the study group aims to see what needs to be changed in the Indian tariff regime for us to consider MFN status for them."

He said Pakistan wants to see the outcome of the Business Study Group (BSP) headed by the Commerce Secretaries of both the countries, which was appointed last week after Akthar's meeting with Indian Commerce Minister Kamalnath.

"First we want to see steps from New Delhi related to tariff peaks before we give the MFN status to New Delhi. The study group aims to see how both the countries could benefit from enhancing bilateral trade between them," he said.