Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan called to Delhi

Angry India ends MFN status to Pakistan, says ‘incontrovertible’ evidence of Pakistan hand in Pulwama terror attack

16/02/2019

NEW DELHI, Feb 15: Acting tough, an angry India on Friday withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted unilaterally to Pakistan while asserting that there is “incontrovertible evidence” about Pakistan’s direct hand in the gruesome terror attack in Kashmir’s Pulwama yesterday.
India will also make all possible efforts to ensure “complete isolation” of Pakistan in the international community and work for early adoption of the long-pending Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), which is pending before the United Nations.
The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the situation in the wake of yesterday’s terror attack was assessed, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters here.
He also said that an all-party meeting will be convened, possibly tomorrow after the return of Home Minister Rajnath Singh from Kashmir, to brief on the situation arising out of the terror attack.
"Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan stands withdrawn," Jaitley said after the meeting which was also attended by Home Minister, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
India had granted MFN status to Pakistan in 1996, a year after the formation of World Trade Organisation (WTO), but Pakistan never accorded the same status to India.
Under the international trade rules, MFN is a treatment accorded to a trade partner to ensure non-discriminatory trade between two countries.
Briefing on the other decisions of the CCS, Jaitley said, "the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will initiate all possible diplomatic steps, which have to be taken, to ensure complete isolation from the international community of Pakistan, of which incontrovertible evidence is available of having a direct hand in this gruesome attack.”
The MEA will also engage with international community to see that the CCIT proposal, which has been pending, is adopted at the earliest.
He noted that the CCIT proposal, moved by India, has been pending because of differences over the definition of ‘terrorism’.
On the ground, Jaitley said security forces will take “all possible steps” to maintain peace and ensure that “those who committed the heinous crime are made to pay a heavy cost.”
A CRPF convoy, while moving from Jammu to Srinagar, was attacked by a suicide bomber in Lethpora area on the national highway at around 3.15 pm yesterday.
According to CRPF, 37 of its personnel were killed and 5 were injured in the attack.
Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria has been called to Delhi for consultations in the wake of Pulwama terror attack that took place on Thursday, said sources.
A source told ANI, "Ajay Bisaria has been called to Delhi for consultations in the wake of Pulwama attack."
Around 40 CRPF personnel were killed after a suicide bomber rammed a car laden with explosives into a bus carrying them on Thursday. The bus was extensively damaged in the blast, which was followed by firing on the vehicle.
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which is based in Pakistan and backed by the Pakistani administration, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was carried out by its suicide bomber.
After the dastardly act, India demanded that the UN ban JeM and its chief Masood Azhar who roams freely in Pakistan.
In a statement, India's External Affairs Ministry said all UN member countries should support a proposal for proscribing Azhar as an international terrorist. (With inputs from ANI)

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